Each November, Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) schools come together for the annual Thanksgiving Donation Drive, an event that blends friendly competition with real community impact by feeding many families in need during the holiday season.
This year, the need for support was especially important. As food benefit programs fluctuated during the recent government shutdown, local food banks had a dramatic rise in demand. To help, students across the district coordinated collection points, decorated bins, and encouraged classmates to donate, turning the drive into a district wide effort to support families facing food insecurity.
The competition included all six IUSD high schools: Woodbridge High, Northwood High, Portola High, University High, Irvine High, and Irvine Virtual Academy. Schools spent the week gathering nonperishable items, promoting the drive on campus and online, and participating in a district-wide social media vote for best bin decoration. By the end of the week, the district collectively contributed thousands of items, with Woodbridge High finishing in first with 1,658 donations, followed by Northwood High with 1,606 and Portola High with 1,393.
Associated Student Body (ASB) advisor Lauren Prudhomme explained that the drive’s impact goes far beyond school spirit.
“One local food bank I communicated with said the number of families they are assisting on a daily basis has skyrocketed this month, with over 100 families coming for assistance each day. I am proud that our school community invested in our local community,” Prudhomme said.
Planning the drive required coordination across campus and across the district. Community service commissioners from each high school worked together to create a promotional video and align details, while individual student leaders organized their own school’s collection efforts. Junior ASB community service commissioner Abigail Tesoriero, one of the students involved in this district wide event explains her experience in this process.
“The collaboration was one of the most rewarding parts of the event…I worked closely with the other IUSD high schools to plan every detail of the drive,” Tesoriero said.
Students described the drive as both fulfilling and eye-opening. Senior ASB president Ankur Parikh emphasized the importance of service during times of uncertainty.
“Our world can be really tough sometimes, and anything we can do to help others is really amazing and needed,” Parikh said.
Parikh appreciated seeing each school not just compete, but contribute toward the shared goal of supporting local families.
While the donation totals provided excitement throughout the week, the main purpose of the event was to support families in Irvine and surrounding areas during a challenging season. The drive’s contributions were delivered to Families Forward, a nonprofit that assists families experiencing hardship, especially during the holidays.
In a year when demand for basic resources surged, IUSD’s Thanksgiving Donation Drive demonstrated how collaboration across schools, students, and the community supported those who were in need the most.
