On Sunday, May 3rd, the Morris Hills HOPE Club arranged its first food drive to support families in need during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The food drive, originally proposed and organized by sophomore Jack Laudati, called for items like rice, canned goods, powdered milk, and monetary gift certificates. Laudati worked to ensure the items would be donated to the Trinity Lutheran Church Food Pantry in Dover, and enlisted the help of HOPE Club and its members to put his ideas into motion. Morris Hills HOPE Club members like Caroline Cote worked tirelessly to promote the event, creating flyers, posting on social media, and spreading the word among classmates. Additionally, to ensure the safety of the attendees of the drive, social distancing protocols were maintained throughout the event, as volunteers wore safety equipment and used minimal contact to transfer donations. As a result of the efforts of the volunteers, the dedication of the HOPE Club members, and Laudati’s incredible initiative, the food drive was a huge success.

Morris Hills faculty and students donated enough items to fill two cars, and another $850 were donated through gift certificates. According to Mrs. Paulson, the Morris Hills HOPE Club faculty advisor, the donations from the drive would help the pantry supply families in need for an entire month and a half. Furthermore, the drive was so successful that Jack Laudati and the Morris Hills HOPE Club held an additional food drive on May 31st for Project Kind, an organization assisting the homeless and other people in need. Their second drive filled the Project Kind donation truck completely, while still maintaining social distancing protocols and safety procedures mandated in the first drive. The success of these food drives truly demonstrates the strength and generosity of the Morris Hills community, showing that even in these troubling times — as Mrs. Paulson puts it — “HOPE is never lost!”