MINGO JUNCTION — The Indian Creek Middle School National Junior Honor Society is continuing its tradition of helping those in need, either themselves or others in the community.
The organization, which includes 33 members, completed a holiday food drive to help the school district and local families. Non-perishable items were collected November 14-22, while donations helped buy turkey and ham. Students have the opportunity to sign up for events to help collect canned and boxed items, including Movie Day and Free Time, both of which require a minimum of two cans or $2 per person to participate, as well as a minimum of five food items or $5 Trenchball team tournament per person. The money raised was used to buy pork and poultry to eat, and members also sorted canned and boxed goods for distribution. School families had the opportunity to receive food in the cafeteria on November 22, with the rest of the food donated to the Urban Missions Department in Steubenville.
Advisor Cathy DiBenedetto has been hosting school fundraisers for the past two decades, starting with her days at Wayne Elementary School and extending to ICMS, while organizations like Wayne Township Food Pantry and Mingo Social Services have benefited from student generosity. This time around, DiBenedetto said organizers wanted to watch closer to home.
“We power Indian Creek families who want to come in and eat, and Urban Mission collects the rest,” she continued. “We bought ham and turkey for families in need and filled our school’s food pantry.”
Principal Holly Minch-Hick said it was a great way to support families and community members.
“We wanted to help some of the immediate family here and the rest went to charity. Three years ago we decided to reach out because families in our school community were in need and we wanted to help,” she commented.
