AHS Lifting Up the Valley One Can at a Time
Some of the food collected by AHS students for the holiday food drive.
Imagine people lined up at local soup kitchens, all waiting to receive one essential for life; food. Their faces light up, excited to be receiving a holiday meal they otherwise would not get.
The AHS Outreach Service Club was founded 15 years ago; since then, it has been serving the valley.For the past 10 years, AHS students have been providing relief through the annual food drive for Lift Up, a non-profit organization devoted to feeding and providing essential assistance to the Roaring Fork Valley.
“We started it so that kids could access and learn about service opportunities in their own backyard. Service is an acquired taste, like brussel sprouts, once you do it you realize you actually like it and it’s good for you,” said Dr. Kathy Klug, the founder of the Outreach Club, “We felt like once kids got a taste of it, it would become part of the schools culture, and it has. Everybody does service.”
Klug says she wanted to inspire kids to do service in their own town. The idea was to do something for your community and to bring the service to the students. Many people were visiting different countries and going over-seas, when there were so many opportunities outside their door.
Through September, 29,060 people in the Roaring Fork valley received various services from Lift Up including groceries and hot meals according to the lift up website. Over 35 large brown paper bags are filled by AHS each year to make the holiday season a little brighter for those who may not otherwise feel full. AHS alone fills Aspen’s Lift Up pantry. Over the years, more than 2,000 kids have participated in the food drive and service here at AHS.
“I love giving cans to the food drive because I know I’m helping out the community,” said junior Katherine Doherty.
Matilda Nickell, a junior and this years student coordinator of the food drive said her favorite part of the project was seeing all the food the club managed to collect to help those in need of support.
It is fair to say that the AHS Outreach Club and food drive has made a big impact on the community as well as creating a greater appreciation for service throughout the student body.
