Battle Ground schools overflow with food, toys and joy this holiday season
Dec. 17, 2021
Hallways lined with donated food and other items were a common sight at schools all around the Battle Ground Public Schools district. Student-led donation drives filled trucks with thousands of pounds of food and other items for local food banks, giving trees provided gifts for families in need, and drive-through holiday celebrations saw long lines at several schools.
“Visiting the schools and seeing the enthusiasm of our students and the generosity of our community has been truly inspirational,” said Superintendent Denny Waters. “We’re especially grateful for our teachers and staff who go above and beyond to organize all of these events, no matter how busy they already are.”
Pleasant Valley middle and primary combined their donation drive, bringing in over 20,000 cans and boxes of food over eight days, as well as over 1,100 pairs of socks. Glenwood Heights Primary students set a goal of 500 items for their food drive, but ended up bringing in well over 3,300 items. At Daybreak schools, more than 8,000 pounds of food was collected and donated to the Clark County Food Bank. At Captain Strong Primary, students collected over 2,100 items for the North County Community Food Bank.
“Few things inspire me as much as young student leaders working to help others,” said Alan Hamilton, president of the Clark County Food Bank. “What has happened amongst the students in Battle Ground Public Schools is truly inspiring as they work to help others in need. It gives me hope. More importantly, it provides hope to families in our community who are in need.”
Battle Ground High School’s food pantry received more than 500 items. At Prairie High School, the Falcon Forest Christmas tree competition brought in another 1,100 canned food donations. Several Prairie students on the school’s Crimson Crew did their own toy drive, collecting over 200 toys for donation to families in need. Summit View High School provided gifts for 24 families through their Giving Tree and ran a blood drive that collected more than 20 units for the American Red Cross.
Amboy Middle School and Yacolt Primary teamed up to help 41 families through their long-running Giving Tree
program. Students also collected over 125 boxes of non-perishable food for North County Community Food Bank and the Lions Club. Laurin Middle School saw hundreds show up for their drive-through Winter Wonderland and collected 135 gifts for 28 families as part of their giving tree program. Glenwood Heights also provided a large holiday food box and grocery gift card for 12 school families. At Pleasant Valley schools, eight families in need received gifts for the holidays.
Battle Ground Public Schools is proud of our students, our dedicated teachers and staff, as well as our generous families for doing so much to help those in need this holiday season. Thank you for showing the true spirit of our community during this holiday season.
11104 N.E. 149th Street,
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 200 
360-885-5300