Source: McKinley Owczarski
Thomas Repass, Mac Owczarski November 30st, 2023
With turkey season in the air Mac Owczarski and I roamed the halls, knocking down doors and taking names: SCA member names to be exact. Our goal was simple: interview the students who took part in our Thanksgiving Basket Project. I will now present you with some of our findings, taking information from notable SCA figures like Katherine Davis and Radia Lu. On Election Day the Student Council Association gathered up to pack these baskets, but that’s not where our story starts.
We begin with a phone call, lots of them in fact. You see, it’s the job of the SCA to call local businesses and community establishments to ask if they can support our cause. When I asked Radia Lu to list how many, she answered with a laugh. “Dude, that’s a lot.” However, she gave me a couple, including kappa kappa gamma, phi pi, the Blacksburg PD, HeFun, the Center Club at VT, Lowes, and Kroger just to name a few. While all of these establishments chip in, another fact was revealed that I had not known: all proceeds of the homecoming dance are put towards the Thanksgiving baskets.
I and so many Blacksburg students have contributed to the community without even realizing it. In fact, Mrs. Davis declared that the homecoming dance had 966 attendees; if memory serves the tickets were ten dollars, which comes out roughly to 9,660 dollars. From here we find ourselves on Election Day where all the magic happened. Taking shifts the SCA members meticulously unloaded, unpackaged, and sorted the food items before repackaging them in baskets. Multiple sources all used the term ‘assembly line’ to describe the process of packing in foods from gravy mix all the way to cornbread. Once packaged, it is given to the Blacksburg PD to distribute, and the SCA members clean. This year the clean up involved Mrs. Davis on a tractor disposing of recyclable materials, a memory that all of our interviewees couldn’t help smiling about. All that was left was to show the student body.
On November 21st the majority of our high school packed into the auditorium for attendance of the Thanksgiving Basket Assembly. For our readers I will not go into great detail, as you have already experienced the assembly by this point. It featured SCA leadership as well as original teaching staff from the beginning of the baskets. A video was shown, and finally a ballet performance was given to end. There was something beautiful about watching the dancers, all pink pancake tutus and buns. Perhaps it was simply the idea that they were just one more part of the Blacksburg community that was made happy.
Source: McKinley Owczarski
As they glided and pirouetted across the stage, the words of Radia Lu resounded in my head. “Truly the Thanksgiving baskets are more than just giving material help, it’s about sending a message of solidarity and strength. This community is all connected.”
Congratulations and thanks to all Blacksburg students and staff who aided in this year's baskets. For those who gave time, effort, or funds, a large part of Blacksburg’s community found food on their table. For this, I’m sure there was thanks.
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