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The McRoberts secondary student council initiated a district-wide initiative that has all 10 high schools working together to raise funds for the Richmond Food Bank.
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High schools collaborate for food bank fundraiser
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 11:10 PST, Mon December 7, 2020
Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
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This holiday season, Richmond high schools are working together to give back to the food bank.
The collaboration was initiated by the McRoberts secondary student council, whose co-president Madhav Chhibbar has a passion for giving back. He first joined student council in Grade 10, was elected a grade representative the following year as well as community liaison, and this year is one of two co-presidents.
“When we were planning with Jim Allison, the district administrator, we thought that maybe we could propose an initiative to give back collectively as a whole school district, and we thought why not the food bank because we thought it was in great need this year,” says Chhibbar.
So at Table 38, the monthly conference that brings Richmond’s high school student councils together, Chhibbar and his co-president Benita Cui proposed the idea. The other schools were enthusiastic. Chhibbar says he’s been going to Table 38 meetings for years and this is the first district-wide initiative introduced.
The collaborative process has been a great opportunity to get to know other student council presidents, Chhibbar says. There’s been good communication and he hopes future student councils might repeat the project annually, as well as exploring other inter-school fundraising opportunities.
“We’ve also suggested that any December events that any student councils are running, for them to donate a portion of that profit to the food bank as well,” he says.
Starting today, through Dec. 18, Richmond high schools will be collecting physical donations of non-perishable items, as well as cash donations through the SchoolCashOnline website used throughout the district. The fundraising goal is around $1,000 in donations per school, with no specific food goal yet.
Chhibbar’s desire to give back is something he got from his mom.
“She goes every month and donates food to the food bank, sometimes clothing to Value Village or the Downtown East Side,” he says. “She’s taught me the importance of giving back to your community.”
He hopes to plan and execute a charity marathon in Richmond in the spring, if pandemic restrictions permit. And after graduating, he wants to study education and become a secondary school teacher.
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