With the 2020 high school football season sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, Derek Parris, Sports Director with Channel 1450, wanted to find a competitive way to help the community. His play: the “Fill the Trailer” food drive. “I wanted to come up with something fun to do and to allow teams to still compete and to have something to strive for … and pairing it with helping the community just made sense,” said Parris.
Channel 1450 invited football teams from the Central State Eight and the Sangamo conferences to join them to “Fill the Trailer” for the Foodbank. As word spread, Parris received text messages and emails from coaches eager to help. “The food drive for us was a chance to give the kids an opportunity to make an effort in a group dynamic,” said David Hay, Head Football Coach at Glenwood High School. “They are missing that terribly right now. The opportunity to participate and then value efforts on the behalf of others is the most valuable lesson any student gets from high school athletics … and this drive helped fill that hole …”
The teams collected $1,500 and 10,475 pounds of non-perishable food items, which provides nearly 18,000 meals, making our neighbors the big winners!
Ten schools from Sangamon and Menard counties — Glenwood, Auburn, Southeast, Williamsville, Rochester, Sacred Heart Griffin, Pleasant Plains, New Berlin, PORTA, and Athens — lined up outside the Foodbank for the final results.
“Our players, parents, and community love to compete. So, it was fun to take on the area with
this food drive. It was even more fun to see the excitement that it generated when we brought in the food!” said Aaron Kunz, Head Football Coach at Williamsville High School.
The leading scorer was Auburn at 2,663 pounds followed by Southeast at 1,995 pounds, then Williamsville at 1,317 pounds and Glenwood at 1,090 pounds. “We didn’t know what to expect this year but there was an incredible turnout,” said Parris. The teams collected $1,500 and 10,475 pounds of non-perishable food items, which provides nearly 18,000 meals, making our neighbors the big winners!