The Food Bank Club is helping students academically and supporting the community
“It makes me feel good when I know that I have helped someone,” Brandt Henri, senior, said.
Henri founded the Food Bank Club, which is available to anyone who is interested in joining.
He founded the club as a result of attempting to qualify for the National Honors Society this summer. The club has been established as of Sept. 9 and has five members in addition to Henri. Members include William Sato, Mitch Tingey, Caleb Archuleta, Andrew Johnson and Arun Gulati, seniors.
The purpose of the club, according to Henri, is to volunteer its services at the food bank head quarters in Portland and help make emergency food boxes for the hungry. The goal is to do this at least twice a semester.
“Another goal I have in mind for the club is to run the food drive at school or run a competing food drive to raise twice the amount of cans,” Henri said.
In the past two years, over one million people in Oregon were in need of food boxes. About 270,000 people eat out of food boxes a month and about 92,000 of those people are children. Henri hopes to gather a large group of people each quarter and help provide for those 270,000 in need of food boxes.
A short-term goal that Henri has is to advertise the club and gain a sizeable amount of members. Without members, he will be unable to help the needy in a sufficient manner. It will also affect Henri’s overall goal.
“My long term goal is for someone to run the club when I leave for college,” Henri said.
To have the club continue into next year however, more members are needed. According to Henri incentives for joining this club includes a better chance into college. It also qualifies for the 20 hours of community service the National Honor Society requires.
“Volunteering in the community is what many colleges are looking for,” Henri said. “Volunteering also gives you a sense of propriety and puts your life in perspective.”