Canned Food Drive

Clay High School's largest public service project - the annual Canned Food Drive.

Since 1978 Clay High School's Student Council has held a can food drive starting after the Thanksgiving holiday and ending just before the Winter/Christmas break. The drive ends with a marathon/can collection event aptly named the Mad, Mad Dash. There is a spirited competition between classes with the seniors considering it a rite of honor to bring in the highest number of cans.

In 1978, the first year of the drive, the can collection totaled 1,285 cans. The first drive was only a week long. Since then, is has grown in duration and quantity of cans - in 1995 we broke the 100,000-can mark and in 2002 we broke the 200,000-can mark. Non-perishable food items, personal care items, and monetary donations are welcome from everyone. One dollar equates to approximately five cans.

Over the years, the students of Clay High School have collected close to three million items for local charities. The proceeds are distributed to 20 local charities and organizations that include: North Central Food Bank, Center for the Homeless, Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul, Greater Mount Calvary Church, First United Methodist Church, Aids Ministries, St Augustine Soup Kitchen, Broadway Christian Parish, Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Margaret's House, Little Flower Church, Greater Friendship Baptist Church, Macedonia Baptist Church, Mishawaka Advocacy Center, and the Clay United Methodist Church. Many of these organizations have grown to depend on the hard-work and charity of our students and families.