Many MICDS traditions needed to be sidelined or rethought this year, and the 2020 Turkey Train was no exception. However, that didn’t stop the MICDS Community from coming up with a solution that tapped into the spirit of giving to provide Thanksgiving meals to needy families in the St. Louis region. And Rams showed TONS of spirit this year! (Keep reading to find out the totals!)
Traditionally, Upper School students form a “train” to pass frozen turkeys from the Upper School STEM Building to the MAC, where a St. Louis Area Foodbank truck waits to pick up the turkeys. In addition to the turkeys, Lower and Middle School students fill upwards of 30 donation barrels containing Thanksgiving food items.
Instead of the train, students were given the opportunity to donate food items throughout the week, and on Thursday morning, the Turkey Train became a drive-through event during the morning hours. This year, donating a turkey was a choice open to students from all divisions. We also encouraged families to make monetary donations to support the work of the St. Louis Area Foodbank.
In the weeks before, Lower School students made a video to motivate their friends to give generously:
“We were concerned that donations would be low with three grade levels learning from home and not being able to do the traditional Turkey Train with the passing of turkeys,” said Erin Hamill, Director of Upper School Community Service. “But the entire community really pulled together and the support this year was tremendous. We are extremely fortunate to have such generous families at MICDS and are so thankful for their support of this annual tradition.”
This year, MICDS Rams families donated:
- 9 totes of turkeys for a total weight of 4,860 lbs
- 31 barrels of non-perishable items for a total weight of 3,382 lbs
- $5,664.85
Between the food and the monetary donations, our community is providing 29,387 meals for local families. Way to go, Rams!
Lower School Art Teacher Sarah Garner made this great video to show off our success!
In addition to donations to the St. Louis Area Foodbank, students at MICDS found ways to give thanks and enjoy the spirit of the holiday all week long. Middle School advisories designed and signed paper turkeys and delivered them to faculty and staff as a way to say “thanks for all you do.” Other students colored their own turkey hats to celebrate the season.
So, although the MICDS Turkey Train looked a bit different this year, the spirit of the event persisted.
“We are so happy with how this year’s Turkey Train went,” said Hamill. “The donations will bring so much joy to many St. Louis area families this Thanksgiving.”
Thank you to the MICDS Community!