Photo courtesy of Colton McKee

By Scott Roblin

Giving Back

Students among those donating this October to Medicine Hat & District Food Bank

Oct 23, 2019 | 7:40 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Students at Medicine Hat High School are giving back this month in the hopes of ending hunger in our city.

Sun City Ford and Medicine Hat High School have partnered for the ‘WE Scare Hunger’ campaign, aimed at raising donations for local food banks.

That includes the Medicine Hat & District Food Bank, who are ecstatic to see the initiative involve local students.

“I think what’s so amazing about it is that we’re challenging kids to give back, to get involved in their community, to be good citizens of Medicine Hat,” said executive director Celina Symmonds.

Donations collected by the students will be used to fill a Ford F-150 pickup truck and a trailer at Sun City Ford and will be dropped off at the local food bank at the end of the month.

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Symmonds added it’s inspiring to see kids in the community who are wanting to lend a hand.

“When kids give back as youth, they learn about citizenship,” said Symmonds. “They learn about what it means to give back in their community and they become givers as adults as well. So, I think that it’s really important that schools and companies encourage young entrepreneurs to get out there and be part of the giving back process.”

Coinciding with the Halloween season, Symmonds said it’s usually a time of year where young people are focused on receiving treats instead of giving them.

“That’s amazing,” she said. “To hear that kids are giving up what they would like to give to someone else, I mean you can’t teach that in a classroom. The only place you can teach that is by actually having them do it.”

According to WE Charity numbers, roughly 54 percent of food banks across Canada have reported an increase in demand.

In Medicine Hat, Symmonds said they’re primarily looking for donations of cash, but are also in need of various non-perishables.

“We’re always in need of soup, pasta and pasta sauce, canned vegetables, canned meats, and canned fruits,” she said.

Sun City Ford will be collecting donations in their showroom for ‘WE Scare Hunger’ as well, open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.