6th grader Jackson Eckroat gives 900 cans of food

Students in Mrs. Bullard’s and Mrs. Tribble’s third grade classes at Lyerly Elementary School recently participated in a learn and serve project to help give back to the community while also learning Georgia math standards. The goal was to sponsor a food drive to help restock the Chattooga County Food Pantry.

The student council encouraged all students and facility of Lyerly to be a part of the food drive. 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Carr decided to sponsor a homeroom competition to drum up participation. 6th grader Jackson Eckroat accepting Mrs. Carr’s challenge. Jackson, ended up bringing in 900 cans of food. The 6th grader commented that he knew, “other people needed the food more than my family did, I wanted to help them.”

For three weeks the third grade collected cans from the other classes. The food items were counted and recorded daily on a data chart. At the end of each week, students totaled the amounts and created bar graphs. Mrs. Denise Jones, a co-teacher created a poster size bar graph to display in the school lobby. The students were learning important math skills while helping the community.

The student council promised the grade level with the most participation a pizza party. Jackson Eckroat’s 900 can contribution helped the 6th grade blow past any other grade level. Everyone who participated in the food drive were winners because they were helping those in need.

Over 2,600 food items were collected during the Lyerly School food drive. David Yarbrough, agriculture eacher and FFA Advisor collected the food items and delivered them to the Chattooga County Food Pantry. This is the 14th consecutive year 3rd grade teacher, Lisa Bullard has put together this food drive and one of the most successful.