It is customary to see posters plastered on school walls and hear frequent announcements that advertise the latest school donation drive. From book drives to canned food drives to blood drives, the variety of donations that schools host are endless, allowing students to participate in numerous ways. Despite beliefs that school donation drives are unsuccessful and futile, these philanthropic endeavors allow students to make a positive impact on their community and are often met with overwhelming success.
At schools, students are encouraged to join clubs, many of which host several opportunities for students to donate and help others. School organizations and extracurriculars play a vital role in the success of donation drives as they foster a unified and empathetic environment.
At Sherwood High School, the English Honors Society (EHS) recently collected books for the Maryland Book Bank, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating literacy in children from under-resourced neighborhoods. This undertaking was an immediate success. EHS sponsor Mrs. Lynette Evans-Williams said, “We collected and donated almost 500 books. Hopefully this is something we can do for years to come.”
These endeavors allow students to engage in community service and assist the underprivileged. Through this donation drive, recipients acquired the resources necessary for a better educational experience. Mrs. Evans-Williams explains, “School donation drives are important because it is a way for the student body to give back to a community. Being of service to communities is an important and needed feature of schools.”
While critics of school donation drives may claim that these ventures are pointless and ineffective at teaching students the importance of service, the donation drives hosted in high school motivate students to partake in similar endeavors throughout their life. The life-long impact that community service instills in children is increasingly apparent when college students participate in donation drives comparable to those in high school.
The University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences hosted a clothing drive to collect winter gear for evacuees from Afghanistan. An article from the University of Buffalo states, “Over 800 cold weather apparel items were collected …for the students, the experience was priceless.”
Carly Le, a participant in the University of Buffalo’s project, states in the article, “As a future pharmacist, it is important that I take this with me throughout my career to provide better care for patients from all backgrounds and cultures.” School donation drives instill positive values in contributors as they discover the necessity of caring for others and help build more compassionate communities. The morals that students learn when surrounded by donation opportunities throughout their entire lives, from elementary school through college, allow them to grow into thoughtful and charitable adults.
When students contribute to donation drives, they are helping people from underprivileged communities build better lives for themselves. Individuals who may not have books to learn from or warm clothes in winter can acquire these essentials through school donation drives. While donation drives are certainly rewarding for donors, they provide immensely more benefits to the communities they are geared toward.
School donation drives help to ensure all students have the same tools and opportunities needed to flourish in school. From the book drive at Sherwood High School to the clothing drive at the University of Buffalo, the success and advantages of donation drives are conspicuous. Donors acquire skills that will benefit them throughout their lives, and those from under-resourced areas can obtain the resources essential to thrive. The monumental impact that school donation drives have on others illustrates that these undertakings remain an indispensable aspect of communities and should continue for years to come.
Written by Riya Khatri of Sherwood High School
Photo courtesy of Natalie Weger of Richard Montgomery High School