The staff and students of FCS are teaming up with parents to help families of Pinedale Elementary this holiday season by organizing the ‘Together We CAN’ food drive, Dec. 1-12.

Over the past few years, an all-school food drive was coordinated with the SchoolCents and Red Bucket programs of Fashion Fair Mall. However, that program was discontinued this year.

Vanessa Markarian — wife of soccer coach Matt Markarian — a project administrator at Peoples Church, says that there is no reason for FCS to stop volunteering or participating in a food drive just because a community sponsor cancels their program.

“Since 2004 Fresno Christian School has partnered with Fashion Fair, the local SchoolCents program, to provide holiday dinners,” Markarian said. “Each year, the entire school joins together to raise cash and donations to help feed community families in need.”

FCS parent Michelle Devereaux has helped coordinate efforts and says parent and student fundraising efforts have donated 792 holiday dinners, which represents $45-$50,000 in value to Fresno families.

Last year FCS was able to feed about 225 families, which went to FCS families in need, World Impact, Inc. and the Every Neighborhood Partnership. Each meal is approximately $40, totaling nearly $9,000.

This year, the all-school food drive will partner with the Pinedale Book Buddies program. High school students are already volunteering as Book Buddies, and now would like to offer additional support to the families of the nearby school.

Linda Amparano, the Pindedale Neighborhood Resource Center organizer, has requested a later delivery date this year so the families will have food for Christmas. She has coordinated a plan with campus officials to put together a list of items most used in the community.

“It is a huge blessing to our families here at Pinedale to be the recipients of the Red Buckets for the holidays!” Amparano said. “It is a natural extension of the love that the students from Fresno Christian bestow upon on children every Thursday through the Book Buddy program!”

In fact, Eagle students have volunteered to read to Pinedale students since 2002.

“Our children love the Fresno Christian High School students!” Amparano said. “Many of our families, which include many of the children that are read to every week, find it hard to make ends meet and the food will be a welcomed gift. We are blessed to have a partner like Fresno Christian in the Pinedale community.”

Those who wish to create a holiday meal bucket should refer to the list at the bottom of this article. The list has been adjusted from last year’s Red Bucket program to better align with the needs of the Pinedale community.

Parents and students interested in making a financial donation, may send cash or a check made out to FCS to the office, with a note: ?Food ? Pinedale,? attached. Only checks made out for $100 or more will be issued a receipt.

For more information, email Markarian or Student Leadership Adviser Robert Foshee.

Together we CAN food items needed:

Bisquick (box)
Chicken broth (canned)
Cookies (box)
Cranberry sauce (canned)
Dry beans (bags)
Gravy (can)
Hot chocolate (box)
Jelly (plastic)
Juice (plastic)
Mashed potatoes (box)
Milk (canned)
Peanut butter (plastic)
Pineapple (canned)
Rice (bag)
Stuffing mix (box)
Tomato sauce (canned)
Tuna (canned)
Veggies (canned)

For more news, read the Dec. 6 article, Music department stages annual Christmas concert.