The Great Ignatian Challenge (GIC) concluded with over 47,000 lbs of food donated, far surpassing the original 30,000 lb goal set in October.
“It was a huge success,” Director of the GIC Mr. Kennedy Phillips said. “This year, it seemed like we set a goal that was a little bit more attainable, once guys saw that we were making progress, it made it a little bit easier for them to feel like they could contribute and participate and hit that goal.”
The first big push towards the goal was the halloween collection date. Over 8,000 lbs of food were collected on this day alone. Students could only dress up in costumes if they brought in at least two cans.
“I turned around and saw a bunch of guys dressed up and laughing,” Mr. Phillips said. “Santi was on the little megaphone that he had. Guys were just having fun with it, and it felt very like naturally occurring energy. It wasn’t forced, it wasn’t awkward.”
Another successful initiative was the Stuff the Bus. This is not the first time the school had done this, but the GIC team set up the bus for the first time outside.
“Setting up the bus outside was really helpful, and brought a lot of energy,” Mr. Phillips said. “Guys were walking out of their cars and seeing the food being weighed and brought into the bus and I think that was a huge driving factor behind the whole thing.”
One of the struggles that Phillips ran into for a short period was finding enough guys willing to go to St. Patrick’s Center. The first trip they took there were only nine volunteers, on the next there were 20.
“They were all great, really helpful and had good energy and attitudes,” Mr. Phillips said. “They weren’t complaining about stuff. I think that was probably the most fun part was all of us being down there.”
This is Philips second year doing this and he has learned more effective strategies that have allowed for the school to collect more than we did last year.
“Last year I made the goal of 45,000 pounds and right off the bat I knew it was going to be really difficult,” Mr. Phillips said. “We had to rely on a lot of alumni donations. This year we focused on making it more student centered by saying ‘bring in 10 pounds a week, we can hit our goal,’ and chunking it up like that.”
Mr. Phillips expressed his gratitude for the families and students who brought in food. He is also grateful for the Coach Hall and the GIC Team who stepped up to give him a hand when he needed it.
“It was really fun being able to lead our school like that,” GIC Team Leader Senior Jack Ilges said. “It was amazing to see the excitement and school wide effort to come together and live out our motto of being men for others.”
Looking forward, Phillips hopes to keep the momentum moving by figuring out a harder to reach, but still achievable, goal for the day off. He wants to continue thinking of incentives like the ones the school had this year.
“Seeing you guys step up to the plate and being able to give to other people makes me remember that I’m working at a place where students are willing to go out of their way to help those in need,” Philips said. “It’s a pretty tiring job and a lot of long days, but looking back at the successes we had, it makes me feel pretty proud and pretty good about what I get to do as a teacher here.”
