In November, students from Armijo High School's International Baccalaureate (IB) program volunteered to help solicit donations to benefit local food banks.
About 20 Armijo IB students spent a Saturday in November at Safeway stores in Dixon, Vacaville and Fairfield. The students helped solicit donations to the “Nourishing Neighbors” fundraising campaign, which supports local charities like the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties.
The day of volunteering is an annual event for Armijo IB students, according to teacher and volunteer coordinator Vanessa Walling-Sisi.
"I have been coordinating the volunteers for several years and I know these kids make a positive impact on the number of donations, but also on the mood of the customers as they enter the stores,” she said.
"One customer came back and put $100 in the donation can and told us he liked seeing us out here," said Fatima Orozco, an 11th grade IB student who volunteered at one of the Fairfield stores.
Armijo High School’s IB Program is centered around the belief that all students deserve equitable access to a high-level, challenging, and engaging educational experience that prepares them for a variety of post-secondary pathways. The school’s diverse population allows Armijo to promote inclusivity and intercultural awareness, while empowering students to become global thinkers.
Nourishing Neighbors is a program of Albertsons Companies Foundation (including Safeway, Shaw's, Star Markets, and others). According to its website, the program funds initiatives such as breakfast for kids, summer meals, connecting families to federal programs, holiday dinners, backpacks for kids to take home over the weekends, school pantries and more.