It’s almost Thanksgiving and you know what that means…it’s time to stock up on classic canned Thanksgiving favorites: cranberries, corn, green beans, and pumpkin. Everyone looks forward to November 23rd, the day when it is acceptable to stuff your face for 24 hours. While this is why some people love Thanksgiving, the main purpose of the holiday is to give thanks for all of our many blessings and spend time with our family and friends. Because we are so blessed in our daily life, we can sometimes forget about the people that aren’t so fortunate. Unfortunately, some people in the Youngsville and Lafayette community do wonder where their next meal will be coming from. I think we can all agree that no one, especially on Thanksgiving, should have to go hungry.

In order to show our thanks and give back to the community, Ascension is once again participating in its annual canned food drive. The drive kicks off November 7th and lasts until November 17th, which is also the last day of school before Thanksgiving break! As the tradition goes, every grade gets their own place in the library to put their canned food. Then each grade will have the chance to make their own structure of anything they choose using the canned food. Naturally, the most creative structure wins. The competition influences students to bring in canned food because the more their grade has, the easier it is to build. Ms. Robertson, who is in charge of organizing the canned food drive this year, says, “Whether it is bringing in canned goods, designing the sculpture, building the sculpture, judging the sculpture, or helping to load up and deliver the canned goods, we can use everyone’s help!”

If all students and faculty would bring in a can or two then we could really make a difference in the way so many families spend their Thanksgiving. Ms. Robertson says, “We should always be generous with those in need, but we hope to be especially generous around Thanksgiving as we prepare for Advent.” Helping the community is one of the best ways to not only give thanks but also celebrate family and friends like are ancestors once did on the first Thanksgiving. So if you see a spare can of corn in your pantry then why not bring it to school and put it towards something positive. Matthew 25:40 says, “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ In all, if we all live by these words this Thanksgiving, we can help more families than ever and make this year’s drive the most successful yet!