In the tradition of the holiday season, each year, the Family Resource Center at Adairville School provides Thanksgiving meals for families in need around the community. In an effort that encompasses the entire school community, the Adairville School family works together to provide numerous families with complete Thanksgiving meals. It is truly a project that stretches across the school as every class brings in different food items. To add to the excitement for the kids, students decorate the boxes that hold each meal in festive manners.

An important part of the food drive is the educational value that is instilled into the participating students, exposing them to both the historical context of the holiday as well as the humanistic value of the food drive that they are participating in. This really struck a tune with the first graders at Adairville as they’ve been learning about the meaning of Thanksgiving and different Thanksgiving traditions, lessons that bolstered their interest as well as their desires to lend a helping hand.

In Mrs. Vicky Cooper and Mrs. Kris Potter’s first grade classes, students collected a variety of food during the month of November for the project in conjunction with their lessons. After each class collected enough food to make a complete Thanksgiving meal, they enjoyed filling the boxes and decorating them based on Thanksgiving traditions while also learning about the value of charity.

The first graders didn’t stop at helping those outside the school either. In addition to decorating the Thanksgiving meal boxes, Mrs. Cooper’s and Mrs. Potter’s classes made decorative placemats to use for Adairville School’s Thanksgiving lunch, which was on Thursday November 19^th. These festive adornments only enhanced the enjoyment of the special meal provided by the Adairville Cafeteria staff.

Once all food boxes were completed, the Thanksgiving meals were picked up or delivered to families a few days prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. In total, Adairville School collected enough food for 30 families. This highly successful program has been intricate in reinforcing the already strong connections between the school and the surrounding community it serves.