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Local Student Teacher Flexes His Muscles for a Good Cause

Apr 24, 2016 | 11:33 AM

LETHBRIDGE – For many, the last day of an internship is celebrated with sweet treats and the completion of final projects.

For student teacher, Andrew Fitz, that final project was pulling a school bus weighing almost 15,000 kilograms and the sweet treat was celebrated by the two classrooms who rode in the school bus as Fitz pulled it.

Students and staff at Fleetwood-Bawden school hosted a “Stuff the Bus” event to celebrate the 25,000-lbs of food collected for the Lethbridge Food bank.

Classrooms competed against each other for the chance to be pulled by the strongman. Teachers said that they had to phone a few times throughout the food drive requesting extra bins, as the students exceeded expectations with a competative spirit.

While the prize of being pulled on the school bus was a great incentive, Director for Lethbridge Foodbank, Debbie Woelders, said that the desire to give to those less fortunate played an incredible roll in the students success.

“With the economy today a lot of these students could be clients of the food bank. After all, forty per-cent of our clients are children,” she noted.

Woelders said that apart from the Christmas food drive and the “Target Hunger” drive in June, donations slow down in the spring, but the contributions on behalf of Fleetwood-Bawden help tremendously.

Fitz said that he was inspired by his students to raise awareness in a creative manner.

“I have a special skill set, if you have something unique you should find ways to share it with others. I thought it would be a good way to raise a lot of food for the food bank,” he said, while catching his breath after the big pull.

Students were still chanting their soon-to-be-missed student teacher as they filed in line to return to their classrooms.