Between November 9^th and December 2^nd, Kempsville High School students have donated cans that will soon be given to the Eastern Food Bank of Virginia. According to Mrs. Schoettlin, the SCA advisor, the purpose behind the Can Drive is to “get the clubs together to show support for the community,” and “assist those who need food.”

The Can Drive is a competition among classes to collect the most cans that will later be donated to a charitable cause. Sophomores won the class competition to collect the most cans, and DECA won the club competition to collect the most cans.

Once the donated cans are counted, they are used as building materials in Canstruction. Canstruction is a competition between classes to qualify for a variety of awards, such as “Best Team Effort” and “Most Colorful.” This year’s theme was “How Super CAN You Be?” Teams collaborated to build pieces according to this theme. DECA, for example, built a statue of a superhero featuring Mr. Hehl’s head, commemorating the large number of cans he contributed to their collection.

According to Mrs. Houchins, “The can drive was a success.” Ten clubs and sports teams participated and “they were all very excited to join in on this event.” Mr. Grant, the freshman class sponsor, said of his group, “The few I had were very enthusiastic.”

However, the Can Drive is still growing in popularity. “I think more clubs participating would improve the Canstruction event,” Houchins said. Mrs. Schoettlin believes that the Can Drive needs more participation from individual students not involved in the clubs that Kempsville High School has to offer. “I think that it would be good if there were [can collection] boxes in classrooms,” Schoettlin said.

Kempsville students can also help the community beyond the Can Drive events. According to Schoettlin, Kempsville High School students should be promoters of community service within the Virginia Beach community. “We should send out flyers” to publicize school events such as the Can Drive and “attend town meetings in order to ask others in our community what they can do to help us,” Schoettlin said. In helping the community, Kempsville students can improve the place in which we live and assist those not as fortunate as us.