By Jennifer Nguyen and Kaitlyn Ngo, Staff Writers
English teacher, Scott Ragan, hosts his 8th annual Mason Lee Food Drive with a goal of collecting 1,000 canned food items.
Ragan’s tradition of hosting his annual food drive was inspired by one of his former students, Mason Lee.
“He came to me as a junior and asked if we could do a food drive in my class. He just wanted to do it in that one period. When I asked him why he wanted to do that, he just said he thought that we should be giving back to the community. I loved the idea, so I decided to do it for all my periods,” said Ragan.
Eight years later, Ragan’s classes have collected thousands of canned goods to donate at a local food bank. This year, he is confident that he will reach the goal.
“When we started the food drive, Mason had found a small food bank that he was taking the food to. After he graduated, when I went to find the food bank, it had shut down. The one that I have been using for the past six years is called the Southern California Indian Center,” said Ragan.
Due to its small location, the Southern California Indian Center doesn’t receive as many donations as other food banks. The contributions from Ragan’s classes are always welcomed and help greatly as the employees at the center are overjoyed to receive all the donations.
Unfortunately, Ragan has not been in touch with Lee. However, one day, Ragan hopes that Lee will come back to visit and to hear about the legacy inspired by him.
Ragan hopes to continue the Mason Lee Food Drive for the entirety of his career until retirement as he believes it’s a worthy cause to continue.
Although held for his classes, Ragan encourages everyone to donate to his food drive, and if possible, increase the number of donations.
“If anyone would like to contribute, they can bring their stuff to room 125. Everything is welcome: non-perishable and canned goods, dried goods, flour, sugar, beans, rice, cereal, whatever you want to bring. It’s all welcome,” said Ragan.
