Spirits were high at St. Patrick's Catholic High School Tuesday morning as Irish Miracle organizing committee members held a pep rally ahead of the 41st annual food drive.
Volunteers will canvas the Sarnia, Bright's Grove, and Point Edward areas on Saturday, December 7, collecting donations for the St. Vincent de Paul food bank.
Grade 11 student Adalyn Dinell and Grade 12 student Maggie Hamel, both organizing committee members, said they enjoyed being a part of the donation event from start to finish.
"It's cool because you get to see all the work that gets put in in the background that nobody else sees. Then when you come in on the actual day, it's really cool to see how the whole community comes together to help each other out," said Dinell.
"I really like seeing the growth of how many people actually participate, coming from such a small community that puts it together," Hamel said.
Teacher Vanessa Borody said operations have been running smoothly this year with an organizing committee of approximately 30 students.
"The students are out of this world," Borody said. "I swear, they are practically running this thing by themselves. They're doing such a good job!"
On the day of the event, residents are encouraged to leave donations on their front porch for volunteers to collect.
While Irish Miracle has always been a food drive, Borody said there is a need for products such as soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, and feminine hygiene products. If residents have reusable grocery bags they're willing to give, those would be appreciated as well.
Borody said the discontinuation of plastic bags has forced them to take a new approach to sorting.
"We used to get them for free from the grocery stores and now, nobody has plastic bags. So our ability to actually figure out how much food we get from the community is a little compromised, so we're doing some guesstimate work and we're trying to figure it out," Borody said. "So this year, we're using reusable bags, and those reusable bags, hopefully, can become our ability to count and figure out how much food we're getting from the community."
Canvassers can pick up their assigned routes at the school Saturday morning between 8:45 a.m. and 9 a.m.
While they will try to visit every street possible -- between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. -- residents who are missed can drop donations off at the Sarnia high school on The Rapids Parkway until 3 p.m.
Volunteers who return to the school will be served a free hot breakfast, courtesy of The Knights of Columbus.
Those who stay behind will help sort the collected items.
Community members interested in volunteering can contact Borody at vanesssa.borody@sccdsb.net. High school students who participate will receive volunteer hours, which can be used toward their Ontario Secondary School Diploma Requirements.
"We're really grateful to the community. They show up every year for this," Borody said. "We are actually going to be present in the parade on Saturday with a little special thank you to the community for their help in Irish Miracle."
Last year, about 5,000 bags and boxes of non-perishable food items were collected along with nearly $2,500 in monetary donations.
“The Irish Miracle is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when a community comes together in the spirit of generosity,” said Director of Education Scott Johnson in a statement. “For 41 years, this initiative has not only provided vital support to those in need but has also strengthened the bonds that make our community truly special, especially during the holiday season.”