The first order of business for Vincent and Jenna Cotter when returning from days off following Hurricane Sandy was to start something great.

Jenna is in fifth grade at School Lane Charter School and Vincent is in eighth grade. The siblings approached School Counselor Jason Ivenz to tell him that during the storm and in the days off without electricity, they pondered a way to help out others in difficult situations. They talked to their parents and formulated a plan to start a school-wide food drive to benefit Philabundance.

“The two students came in with ideas for posters, a set of goals for the amount of food they would like the school to collect and a message they wanted to deliver to each of our classrooms,” Ivenz said. “They even came in with little note cards for the younger grades showing them how Philabundance was spelled, as well as some small pieces of artwork they made to demonstrate to other students ideas for posters and advertisements that could be created and placed around the school so everyone would become more aware of the food drive.”

Each classroom had a collection bin that students decorated in any style they chose. Canned goods, nonperishable items and monetary donations were accepted and the drive ran for several weeks during November.

The Cotters set an initial goal of gathering 300 pounds worth of goods. School Lane Charter School rallied and more than doubled that goal, bringing in a whopping 813 pounds of food, or an average of 25 pounds per classroom and $162.79 in monetary donations.

Overall, the idea that came out of a bad situation—Hurricane Sandy—led to massive support from the School Lane Charter School students and a big helping of food for local needy families.