RCDS Community Collects Over Two Tons of Rice and Beans for Crop Walk

Historically, one of the largest rice and beans donors, the RCDS community was proud to contribute 4,450 pounds to the total 17,000 pounds of food collected for The 39th Annual Red Bank Crop Walk held on Sunday, October 20.

“Service opportunities like the Crop Walk make you realize you can be part of something bigger,” said seventh grader Finn Carton. “The RCDS Service Program allows us to volunteer for a wide variety of organizations. Whether it be sharing a joyful moment or providing food for the hungry, helping people in need or animals that need rescuing, we bond together for a good cause. It’s pretty awesome.

Finn was one of a dozen student volunteers who helped to transport the hefty haul of rice and beans to Red Bank Regional High School, where the total donated food was weighed and sorted for local food pantries. Despite the dreary weather, student enthusiasm was proudly on display as volunteers walked several miles in an effort to raise social awareness to end hunger worldwide.

“Our students have shared their kindness in every grain of rice, their sense of responsibility with every bean, and they did all of this with respect for the people in our community," said Amy Clark, RCDS Teacher and Service Learning Coordinator.

On the tail of Crop Walk, members of RCDS’s Service Learning Program plan to collect leftover Halloween candy to donate to Holiday Express while the Parent Council recently announced its annual coat drive. The coat drive will run from October 28-November 8 to benefit Family and Children’s Services. RCDS will continue to provide opportunities throughout the 2019-2020 school year for its community to give back.