Student volunteers at Bingham High School are accustomed to having successful charity drives, but the response to their "Trick-or-Treat for the Homeless" drive overwhelmed even them.
"This is the first time we've done one like this on Halloween," said Key Club member Jenny Tanner. "These things always seem to work out good here. The people in this area really care."After rounding up items donated from area residents, every table in the school cafeteria was piled so high with clothes students had to move them outside to be sorted and bagged. After 20 pick-up truck loads, there were still several stacks on the ground.
"The effort was solely the idea of the students," Tanner said. "We thought it would be a good idea to get things like warm clothes and blankets out to the homeless early before it gets cold."
Bingham High's clubs and student body consider charity efforts worthwhile and important. Their last year's Sub-for-Santa drive raised $19,000 - the most in the state.
"This is a surprise, but we've continuously done better than other schools on other drives, too," said senior Robbie Hardy. "With the Sub-for-Santa, while their goals may be around $2,000, our's is around $10,000."
There are about 3,000 students attending Bingham High School, and with areas that include Riverton, Bluffdale and South Jordan, just delivering the fliers announcing the drive was a lot of work, says senior Alexis Boskovich.
Other students agreed.
"It's a large area to cover. It's a good thing so many of our students are willing to help. I covered a lot of ground on my Rollerblades though,"said volunteer Beth Paxton.
Many trips were made to unload the bags of blankets and clothes, some of which were new, to Travelers Aid and Visions Altitude, a facility for troubled and homeless teens.