By Tolu Salako, BubbleLife Intern

In the spirit of Halloween, the Coppell High School Student Council organized a fundraiser, Trick or Treat So Kids Can Eat (TOTS EAT), to provide assistance to local underprivileged students.

At Coppell High School, students’ fourth period classes collected canned goods in order to support the cause for less fortunate kids in the city.

“(This fundraiser) is all about collecting as many canned goods as we can in order to donate to families and children in need,” CHS senior Student Council President Spandana Mudhaliar said. “We have done a great job and will probably continue this fundraiser every year.”   

In 2011, more than 304,000 pounds of canned goods were collected during the drive nationally, which fed thousands of families. Coppell schools have done many canned food drives, and all have been quite successful.

“It was actually (Coppell Middle School North) that made us participate in the fundraiser,” Mudhaliar said. “We heard that they were really successful and that many kids donated, so we wanted to do it here at the high school too.”

This annual food drive is not only a Coppell-wide fundraiser. Most of the time, the Thespian community participates in this cause all over America in order to give back to their community.  

This year, Coppell High School collected and donated over 1,300 cans to show its support.

“I knew that this fundraiser was for a good cause, so my mom and I bought a lot of cans,” Coppell High School junior Kailey Visoski said. “We knew that most Coppell kids are quite fortunate, and this fundraiser was just a small way that our community could help.” 

The class that collected the most was Eileen Higgins fourth period, which will receive a prize for its hard work and support. Higgins teaches Special Education and will receive a pizza party sometime next week.

“The purpose of having a pizza party was just a small incentive to make kids contribute,” Mudhaliar said. “Even if we didn’t have a prize, I am confident to say that CHS students would still have donated the same amount of cans. It is nice to see what a giving school we have.”

The Coppell High School Student Council did not have a set goal of how many cans they wanted to collect. The council however was expecting a range of 70 to 200 cans per class.

“We just wanted the kids to donate what they thought fit,” CHS sophomore student council member Ayushi Chintakayala said. “It didn’t matter if kids brought only one can or 100 cans; every (canned good) can make a huge difference.”