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Staff Photo by Matt Fields-Johnson Rossvile Middle School teacher Andy Hawkins and seventh-grader Justin Bolton load canned goods donated by students at the school to be given to families in need for Thanksgiving.
More than 80 percent of Rossville Middle School students receive financial assistance from the federal government, but that didn't stop them from donating thousands of canned goods for other needy families.
"We gave canned goods so that we can help out people who can't afford can goods," said 11-year-old Matthew Edmondson, one of the schools 635 students who on Friday donated food to Rossville Community Ministries.
Susan Wells, who was working as a volunteer for the ministry, called the schools' donations "a wonderful act on their part."
"What really impresses me is that the staff and students realize how important it is to help others and to give during this tough time that everyone is experiencing," she said.
The students brought in more than 4,000 food items, she said.
"There's just a lot of people in our community who are hurting now and need the extra assistance," she said.
Rossville Middle School has a high population of economically disadvantaged students who understand others' needs, Principal Wanda Janeway said.
On Friday, students and teachers crowded the lower floor of Rossville Middle School to load boxes of canned goods onto trucks.
"We don't want anybody to be hungry on Thanksgiving," said Rossville Middle teacher Betty Chislom, who organized the school food drive this year.
She scheduled the drive so it could help families who needed a boost before Thanksgiving and Christmas, she said.
"It's about the spirit of giving," Ms. Chislom said. "On Christmas and Thanksgiving, we want to make sure that everybody is fed."
The Rossville Community Ministries serves thousands of people a year, with each person receiving a three-day supply of food for themselves and their family, officials said.
Anyone with proof of local residence and a Social Security number can receive food, they said, but people are encouraged to come no more than once every three months.
The ministry is not intended to be a regular food source, but to fill in the gap until people can get a more steady form of assistance, Ms. Wells said.
Melinda Newby's sixth-grade homeroom only has eight students, but they collected 204 cans by Thursday, more than any other sixth-grade teacher at Rossville Middle.
Yolanda Putman has been a reporter at the Times Free Press for 11 years. She covers housing and previously covered education and crime. Yolanda is a Chattanooga native who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama State University. She previously worked at the Lima (Ohio) News. She enjoys running, reading and writing and is the mother of one son, Tyreese. She has also ...
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