Helping hands

Grafton school buildings are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that didn’t stop students and other community members from joining forces to support Family Sharing of Ozaukee County with a drive-through food drive in the Grafton High School parking lot April 19.

The event, organized by the district’s Parent and Community Education Series group, collected more than 8,400 pounds of food and raised $560 in two hours for the food pantry, which helps more than 600 area families.

“We never would have guessed that so much food would be donated in such a short timeframe,” Family Sharing Executive Director Julie Hoover said. “Food drives like Grafton’s ensure that we will continue to provide food to the people who need it.”

Director of School Counseling Greg Johnson, who led the drive, said he was amazed by the turnout. 

“We wanted to make this a safe outing for people who may have not had a chance to get out of their houses and do something nice for the community,” Johnson said, noting families from St. Joseph Catholic School also provided assistance.

During the event, volunteers made it a game to see how many students from each school brought in the most items.

“We weren’t very scientific with our counting, but obviously the high school has the most students,” Johnson said, noting Kennedy Elementary School came in a close  second.

“We never thought that we would collect this much, and we were amazed with the awesome turnout,” Johnson said. “It shows that when there’s a need going on in the greater Grafton community, our families and community members want to step up and help.”