Health & Fitness
Touchdowns for Hunger: Local Youth Collect Change for Food Pantries
Lynnfield High School student Nick LoConte and friends collect change for local food pantries at the LHS vs. North Reading High School Thanksgiving football game.
For many of us, Thanksgiving Day includes family, food, and football but not everyone has all three. Nick LoConte, a Lynnfield High School junior, admits he loves to eat, and can’t imagine anybody, especially children, going hungry. This prompted his idea to combine football and food in a new way. “Touchdowns for Hunger” was created to collect spare change at the Thanksgiving LHS vs. North Reading football game to donate to food pantries serving both communities.
Last year, Nick and his brother Robert became involved with a local non-profit organization, Gathering Change, Inc., whose mission is to meet the immediate basic needs of our neighbors. With the approval of Gathering Change, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jefferson and Nick’s Habitat for Humanity Advisor, Mr. Forrester, Nick and Robert planned “Touchdowns for Hunger” and designed tee shirts. During halftime at the biggest football game of the season, 15 LHS students milled the crowd at Pioneer Field collecting a total of $660.89!
As we celebrate family, football and food, we also celebrate our youth and two very generous communities. Thank you to all the Lynnfield and North Reading football fans who participated. For more information about GCI, please see www.gatheringchangeinc.org
