Hawklets Lead Record-Setting Food Drive

It was a record-breaking week in mid-November for Rockhurst's Harvest Food Drive!

 

For 25 years, students have donated canned goods for the annual Harvest Food Drive, but students have been doing an annual drive in some capacity since the late-1960s.

 

This year's Hawklets DOUBLED any record from previous years! 

 

Students rallied to donate more than 40,000 lbs. of canned goods in five days - that was over 45 lbs. donated per student.!The seniors led the charge, with the Class of 2025 bringing in 21,000 lbs. of food.

 

Donations will benefit Bishop Sullivan Center, Catholic Charities, Christ The King Catholic Church, Redemptorist Center, Seton Center, St. Elizabeth Parish, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church, and The Don Bosco Center.

 

Rockhurst students’ efforts will also lead to support for the school’s tuition assistance program through the Great Ignatian Challenge. Since the challenge was first put forward in 2016 by Jim Rowen, an alumnus of Fordham Prep in New York, Jesuit schools across the country have competed to donate the most canned goods. In eight years, more than 2.2 million pounds of food have been collected and distributed across food banks and community centers. This year, 24 Jesuit schools are participating and $300,000 in scholarship funds will be split among the top-performing schools. 

 

Money for each school’s financial assistance program is given out on a tiered basis depending how much each school collects per student. In 2023, Rockhurst was awarded $15,000 for raising 21,000 lbs. of food.