MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — Superintendent Pamela Beaudoin, Principal Patricia Puglisi, and Athletic Director Cameron Molinare announce that Manchester Essex High School student-athletes collected 162 pounds worth of items to support the Beverly Bootstraps food drive in April.
The food drive was organized by High School sophomore Libby McKinnon, who volunteers at Beverly Bootstraps. McKinnon, who plays girls lacrosse, coordinated the event and enlisted all spring sports students to collect canned goods and non-perishable items.
Each spring sports team was in charge of collecting one Beverly Bootstraps’ top 10 most-needed items. Boys baseball collected boxes of pasta, boys lacrosse collected peanut butter, girls lacrosse collected canned fruit, the sailing team collected canned tuna, girls softball collected boxes of macaroni and cheese, boys tennis collected canned vegetables, and girls tennis collected cans of soup. Teams were asked to donate personnel hygiene and bathroom items as well.
Students delivered the items to Beverly Bootstraps, which have been donated to families and community members in need.
“The Athletic Department is incredibly appreciative of all our spring coaches, student-athletes, and families for their contributions to our Beverly Bootstraps Food Drive. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to sophomore student-athlete Libby McKinnon for her leadership, vision, and mission that helped make this community service project possible,” said Molinare. “Providing opportunities for all our athletic programs to get together and give back to those in need is super important. Education-based athletics is about more than how our teams perform individually in their sports. Community service initiatives such as this one provides everyone with the opportunity to grow as servant leaders and give back to our surrounding community. This project was a huge success, thanks to the efforts of our student-athletes and Libby McKinnon, and we are excited to run more community service projects in the future.”
“My overall goal for the food drive was to create a relationship with Beverly Bootstraps and Manchester Essex,” said McKinnon. “Starting off as a community service project, it was an incredible experience to see how much support came from the athletes and coaches. The impact was profound when I learned the food donations would be put to immediate use given the 300-plus households Beverly Bootstraps supports each week. It will be exciting to see what we achieve next year!”
For more information about Beverly Bootstraps click here.
From left, Nancy Garvey (parent of MERHS alum), Manchester Essex sophomore Libby McKinnon, and Volunteer Coordinator Debbie Ploszay, hold a variety of items donated to Beverly Bootstraps organization by Manchester Essex High School students. (Photo Courtesy Manchester Essex Regional School District)
