For North Penn Thespian Troupe 5464, their annual Trick-Or-Treat-So-Tots-Can-Eat canned food drive, like most things this school year, looked a little different. Instead of cans being collected and weighed in F041, they were dropped off at the bus circle to volunteers smiling behind their masks. 

“Trick-or-Treat is typically a week-long event, where we collect cans daily from homerooms,” Thespian Troupe President Livi Greco said. “This year, it was only a few hours, outdoors, in a drive-thru system.”

Student volunteers traditionally went from room to room collecting bags of cans from classrooms. By the end of the week, cars would be stuffed tight with non-perishable items to bring to the local local Manna-on-Main Street. This year, the event was held for three hours, with volunteers quickly weighing, packing, and dropping off donations within the short timeframe. All while staying socially distanced. 

“The biggest struggle with planning the event was making sure it could happen safely,” Rojin Mortazavi, Thespian Troupe #5464’s Activities Coordinator, said. “We were excited to get the approval from the school, but that’s when everything became real. Thankfully, we worked together in order to create both a positive impact and a great experience.”

The donation drive collected over 1,230 pounds of non-perishable items to the non-profit organization, which is the amount usually made in the past few years. The remarkable effort made by the staff, students, parents, and donators shows that teamwork, even from a distance, can make a difference.

“Overall, we felt very confident in the ability of thespians to adapt to this new world,” Greco said. “It’s great to still be giving back to the community when people are most in need.”

If you’d like to make a donation to Manna-on-Main Street, you can visit https://mannaonmain.org/give-money/donate-now/ for more information.