Lakeland Christian Academy held its ninth annual Food Drive for Combined Community Services Sept. 26-28. On Monday, all LCA students went out into the community and placed empty grocery bags at 5,000 homes requesting non-perishable food donations. The students then returned to the homes on Wednesday and picked up a record-breaking number of donations, according to a news release from the school. Each year, LCA does the food drive to help CCS stock their shelves. LCA teachers and staff feel that this is always a great opportunity for all students to get involved in activities outside of school that benefit others and to be the hands of Christ, the release states. Scott Wiley, LCA director of development, said, “It was great to see our 150 students get so excited about helping others. Many of them commented that this is their favorite day of the whole year. I am glad that Lakeland is getting more and more involved in our local community.” Peggy Lisenbee Wright, CCS director of client assistance, said, “Thank all of you so much for the awesome food drive. By our count, it’s currently over 16,000 pounds and people are still dropping off donations. Families are already benefitting from the food and we’ve heard so many comments of appreciation. The winter months always see a rise in numbers of people needing help. We are so grateful that Lakeland makes it possible for us to meet that need.” This year’s LCA food drive coordinator, Julie Bauer, said she was touched by the giving spirit of the Warsaw/Winona Lake community. LCA thanked Reinholts, JB Furniture, and Brouwers Furniture for providing drivers and trucks; Aldi’s, Owen’s, Marsh and Martins for the paper bags; and Bob Evans and Big R for the cardboard boxes. “This event is truly a communitywide event that involves students, parents, teachers, community members and CCS, and it’s a blessing to live and work in such a great community,” the release states.
