The Arlington Times • The Marysville Globe
Marysville holds All-City Food Drive
MARYSVILLE — This year’s All-City Food Drive for Marysville generated 6,063 pounds of food donations and $1,243 in cash and gift cards on Saturday, Nov. 3. April O’Brien and her son Trey were joined by Mary Vermeulen and her grandson Aden at the Fred Meyer for the day’s 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift. “The first shift collected six boxes full of food, which is not the norm,” April O’Brien said. “There’s usually hardly any take early in the day on the All-City Food Drive. O’Brien noted that toothpaste and dog food seemed to be especially popular choices for Fred Meyer shoppers to give away, along with the standard assortment of canned fruits and vegetables. “People have just been so generous overall,” said Mary Vermeulen, who agreed that their collection site had probably taken in at least 400 pounds of food between 9 a.m. and noon. “We appreciate that generosity.” The Marysville Pilchuck Volunteer Crew’s adult Dave Bodach and students Ashlynne Wright and Emily Ternes were hard-pressed to guess at how much food
had been collected at their site at the Marysville Safeway since the start of the day, but by 12:30 p.m., they figured they’d taken in about $200 in cash. “The donation amounts don’t seem noticeably less or more than previous years, but I do notice that our club has been doing more of these types of drives per year over the years,” said Bodach, who’s been taking part in such food drives for roughly the past dozen years, right around the time that a close relative found herself on the receiving end of such aid. “She needed the help she got. I’m aware that I’ve always been pretty blessed, so this is one way of giving back.” Members of the Marysville Kiwanis and Key clubs tried to figured out between them how much money and how many pounds of food they’d collected at the Albertsons by 1 p.m. “Has it been about 200 pounds?” asked Vicki Steffen of the Marysville Kiwanis Club. “No, more like 300 pounds,” said Alwyn Galang, president of the Marysville Getchell High School Key Club. “Probably more than that,” said Elaine Ferri, secretary of the Kiwanis.
Kirk Boxleitner/Staff Photo
From left, Sean Overcash, Alwyn Galang, Vicki Steffen, Elaine Ferri and China Zugish represent the Marysville Kiwanis and Key clubs at the Marysville Albertsons during the Nov. 3 AllCity Food Drive. “It’s nice to see the community turning out like this,” said China Zugish of the Key Club. “It’s rewarding to pile up all this food for the needy.” “And it’s exciting to finally have a Key Club here in Marysville,” Steffen said. “We can use the extra manpower.” Volunteers from the city of Marysville, Marysville Fire District, Kiwanis and Lions clubs, Soroptimist International, Lakewood High School, Girl Scouts and other local youth groups collected donations at the Fred Meyer, Albertsons, Grocery Outlet, Haggen, IGA and Safeway stores in Marysville
and Smokey Point. Red barrels have been placed throughout the Marysville community since Nov. 3 and will continue collecting food and toys throughout the holiday season. Donations can also be dropped off at the Marysville Community Food Bank, located at 4150 80th St. NE, behind St. Mary’s Catholic Church. For more information, contact Tara Mizell at 360363-8404 or at tmizell@ marysvillewa.gov. Volunteers for the toy store should contact JoAnn Moffit at 425-8761010 or moffittbusichio@ yahoo.com.
AHS food drive runs Nov. 5-16
ARLINGTON — Monday, Nov. 5, marked the return of the annual food drive at Arlington High School. Each year, the AHS Leadership class develops a theme and coordinates the collection of non-perishable food items and money for the Arlington Community Food Bank. This year, to increase participation, the high school Leadership students have implemented a new focus and set of activities for the food drive. This year’s theme is “Feed the Family,” and AHS Leadership students are asking each student at the high school to bring one food item for each member of his or her family. The Leadership class has scheduled a series of activities requiring students to bring items or money to participate. These activities include “Just Dance” and “Minute to Win It” competitions pitting students against school staff members. This year will also mark the return of the familiar favorite, “Stop Mr. Ballew from Singing,” during which
5
students must pay a certain amount of money, or bring in a certain number of items, to stop AHS English teacher Ben Ballew from singing and playing annoying songs. In addition, the class has organized two “Blitz Nights,” during which students will go into Arlington neighborhoods to collect donations. The AHS Leadership class food drive runs from Nov. 5 through Friday, Nov. 16. The “Just Dance” competition and first “Blitz Night” will take place Friday, Nov. 9. The “Minute to Win It” competition is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 13. “Stop Mr. Ballew from Singing” and the second “Blitz Night” are both set for Thursday, Nov. 15. “The AHS Leadership class and student body are primed, excited and ready to go,” said Andrea Conley, public information coordinator for the Arlington School District. “The spirit of servant leadership is alive and well at Arlington High School, and we expect the ‘Feed the Family’ food drive to be the most successful food drive ever.”
697965
kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com
679621
BY KIRK BOXLEITNER
November 7, 2012