Throughout my years at Delbarton, I have come to see the hard work, commitment, and brotherhood which every student exhibits on a daily basis. I recently had the chance to experience the school’s great generosity and devotion after I volunteered for the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. When I first heard about my role as a coordinator, I felt skeptical, however, the sight of my Delbarton brothers and their parents all working together to meet a common goal immediately removed any initial hesitation.

As part of a team of Delbarton students coordinating the effort, along with dedicated parents, we pulled together for the final push early Thanksgiving week to reach our goal. We not only provided on-site coordination of the event, but we also obtained maximum food donation by creating friendly competition for donations among Delbarton deaneries. Delbarton faculty member and Campus Ministry Director Dr. David Hajduk worked tirelessly with us in advance of the food drive to ensure we achieved our goal of 50,000 pounds. Once the collection was over, it was quite a sight to see canned food stacked from floor to ceiling at the annex building of our collection site. The thought that we were able to collect this much food as a small community not only astonished me, but also reminded me of the impact of community, brotherhood, leadership, and devotion.

After the Thanksgiving Food Drive was complete, I could not help but think of how many people the Delbarton community helped in this effort. The Morristown Food Pantry relies on Delbarton each year to be a major source of its food inventory, and Delbarton has come through time and again. Though we take for granted the abundance of food in our everyday lives, our efforts in this year’s Delbarton Thanksgiving Food remind us all the importance of charity and the appreciation of all that we have.