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The 21st annual Cereal Box Challenge has come to an exciting close with the McWilliam Mustangs taking home the Cereal Box Challenge Trophy for the very first time! Bellewood, Talbot Trail, McWilliam, Glenwood, Southwood and Central Public Schools collected and donated another record-breaking 3.283 MILLION grams of cereal! That is an average of 1,358 grams per student. Thank you to every GECDSB family, student and staff member who give so generously every year.
The Cereal Box Challenge was started by GECDSB Trustee Kim McKinley鈥檚 daughter in 2003. What started as a way for one school (Oakwood Public School) to generate donations for breakfast and snack programs at schools in the city鈥檚 west end has grown to include many South Windsor schools. Donations are now delivered to over 28 GECDSB schools and four community organizations in Windsor-Essex.
While the contributions of all students make the Cereal Challenge possible, there is one student who stands out each year. Owen is a Grade 7 student from McWilliam who knows how to make a difference! It all started in kindergarten when his teacher told him about the Cereal Drive and how the cereal that was collected would go to other school communities in need. That year, he began asking for friends and family to bring cereal to his birthday party instead of presents. His parents were very surprised when all of the guests showed up with cereal instead of gifts but were so proud of his leadership and compassion for others. Owen鈥檚 birthday is in November and always falls during the time of the cereal drive. He has collected cereal for his birthday every year since, last year collecting over 700 boxes of cereal, and this year even more. It is estimated that he has collected well over 3000 boxes of cereal throughout his years at McWilliam Public School, showing that kind acts do make a difference!
The GECDSB鈥檚 administration building also participated in the challenge and collected over 400,000 grams of cereal. This collection was donated to the Goodfellows. Congratulations to the Business department for raising over 160,000 grams!
The GECDSB extends a heartfelt thank you to Kim McKinley, Doug Robinson and the staff at Three Aces Moving, Sharp Bus Line, the Real Canadian Superstore, all of the bus drivers who deliver cereal safely every year and the volunteers who make this initiative possible.