Page 20 December 2015 By Rachael Bouley Since 2009, the Camelback High School’s food bank has served as an invaluable resource for the school community, especially during the holiday season. Together, the Distributive Education Clubs of America (the school’s marketing and entrepreneurs club), the Interact Club, Mountain View Christian Church volunteers as well as the school staff make the bank successful and accessible for students and families in need. Rosa Dominguez, community liaison for the school, said that the food bank was born out of DECA’s Halloween Can Food Drive. The bank began in a storage room and had grown significantly. For the past 23 years, Camelback High has organized a Halloween Can Food Drive. Through a four-week process, 150 students within the marketing and entrepreneurs clubs collect brown paper bags from supermarkets, design a grid of the surrounding neighborhood, drop the paper bags off on 4,300 doorsteps and return to pick them up on Halloween night. “The neighborhood has become so used to it, that sometimes I get calls asking when we are coming,” said Julia Bourdo, teacher and director of the entrepreneurs club. “The people of this community have been so incredibly generous to us. Without them, none of this could happen.” This year, on Halloween night, the students collected over $15,000 in canned food. For Bourdo, the final result is fantastic, but the entire process is a priceless learning tool. “We teach them a process on how to get to an end result,” said Bourdo. “They come back feeling so good because they know people need to eat. But they are also walking away, learning a process they can apply again and again in life.” At the beginning of this food collection program, DECA would donate food for the holidays to the Camelback campus while donating the rest to St. Mary’s Food Bank, explained Dominguez. Over the years as the need for food grew on campus, DECA expanded its efforts, with the help of former Camelback High School principal Dr. Chad Gestson. “Dr. Gestson connected with his venture partners to provide shelving and tables needed to store the food that would be donated,” Dominguez said. “The food bank began handing out food as needed and then a scheduled day of the week was chosen so that parents or the community could pick up food once a week.” Now, every Thursday afternoon from 3-5, the food bank is open for families and community members to stop by and pick up a food bag for the week. Normally, the bags are filled with dry goods and cans, and if they are available, fruit and bread as well. Camelback’s food bank does not require income verification or identification to receive food. “We only ask that they sign in at the door and leave a number, family size and the date,” Dominguez said. Because each situation is unique and oftentimes families live with other families or have complicated income situations, it can be hard for them to obtain aid from food banks like St. Mary’s, where identification is necessary and an address is valid for only one family per address. Camelback’s more informal approach makes it easier for students and their families to get the extra help they need. “We have a list of families that have been referred by Camelback faculty and staff or by students that are in need of food,” Dominguez said. Dry goods and items that are left over from campus events or classroom drives organized by students are also donated to the bank. “Community members can drop off food at Camelback High School during the day,” she said. Two community churches, Mountain View Christian Church and Camelback Bible Church, provide donations to the food bank as well. The help and support from the local community has allowed the food bank to become a resource for students and families, with many of the students who help in the collection process actually taking bags of food home for their family. “Students and various clubs can come and volunteer their time to ensure that we are updating and sorting expired food, making phone calls, and preparing bags to be delivered or distributed,” Dominguez said. “There is a rise of donations during the holidays from our staff because they know many of our students have their only meals on campus.” If you’d like to make a donation or volunteer with the Camelback High School food bank contact Rosa Dominguez, rdominguez22@phoenixunion.org. Peanut butter, jelly and cereal are always in high demand. 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SAVE THE DATE THE VILLAS AT BAKER PARK GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2015 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM with special guest Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio For decades, Baker’s Nursery at 40th Street and Osborn Road made Valley homes a little greener. On December 10, Empire Residential Communities invites you to the groundbreaking of Arcadia’s newest residential community, The Villas at Baker Park . Empire Residential Communities is building forty-four semi-custom homes in a park-like setting preserving many of the original trees planted at Baker’s Nursery. Please come join our celebration with live music, refreshments and light offerings from the neighborhood establishment, THE VIG. Parking is available at the Valley Community Church located on the southwest corner of 40 th Street and Osborn Road. RSVP to Marissa Mudrock at mmudrock@theempiregroupllc.com We look forward to seeing you there! For sales and additional information, please visit our website www.thevillasatbakerpark.com or call 480.540.5479