A Dunedin secondary school pupil has gone from forgetting about a can drive until the night before to collecting more than 600.
A few challenges issued by his classmates was all it took for King’s High School pupil Declan Viljoen to collect as many cans as he could for Presbyterian Support Otago’s Kai for Octacan foodbank appeal this year.
When he showed up to school the next morning, he did not think much of his 21 cans.
His classmates begged to differ, with only one or two cans to show for themselves.
The next year he got to 90 and by last year he reached the 200 mark.
This year, armed with two green trolleys and a Facebook campaign, Declan set his sights on cracking 500.
After nearly five weeks of effort, the grand total came to 625.
Declan said there was a regular influx of two or three cans each day, as well as a few cash hand-ins.
With the money he received through donations he ordered 300 cans of all varieties from the supermarket.
He even needed a trailer just to transport them to school.
Declan said his pursuit to collect cans came from the values taught at King’s.
"We’ve got boys at school who don’t really come to school with lunch.
"This is one of the things I could do to help people."
Octacan is Presbyterian Support Otago’s major winter food drive to support people as the months grow colder.
The charity seeks donations of cans and other non-perishable food items every year.
Donations are used to make emergency food parcels that go to Dunedin communities dealing with hardship.
Presbyterian Support Otago supporter engagement manager Jude McCracken was grateful for Declan’s donation.
"This is an incredibly generous donation from a high school student.
"People like Declan are helping us restock our shelves and it was really heartwarming to see our community helping people who find themselves in these difficult times."
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
