Consider the Complex Crammed: United Way-Led Food Drive Collects 10,000 Items for Holidays

The Franklin-Grand Isle United Way’s annual Cram the Complex food drive usually means one thing… volunteers will end up counting a lot of chow.

During this year’s Cram the Complex - one of the most massive holiday food drives in the region - volunteers and donors attempted to cram the Collins-Perley Sports Complex in St. Albans with food donations for local families. Over 10,000 items were collected this year, including over $800 in donations.

Cram the Complex is a major part of Operation Happiness, the FGI United Way’s annual community initiative that provides baskets of food to over 1,200 struggling families throughout Franklin and Grand Isle Counties.

Local students played a huge part in the success of Cram the Complex. In Fairfax, students at the Bellows Free Academy renamed the drive “Bust the Bus” and collected a huge number of items. The Mary S. Babcock Elementary school in Swanton set a goal of 2,000 items, beating that number and collecting 2,162 items… in a school of 580 students. The Saymore students of Holy Angels Parish and the students from the confirmations classes at Nativity Parish went door to door to collect food and handing out flyers.

The students did “a fantastic job,” said Marilyn Billings, board secretary for the FGI United Way and chairwoman of Operation Happiness. Billings also sent a “special thank you” to the other volunteers and donors for making Cram the Complex a success.

“We had one volunteer, Maeve Pickerner, who packed food all afternoon Friday, came back first thing in the morning Saturday, played a hockey game, then came back and packed more food. She was amazing! The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) also did a fantastic job greeting people at the curb of Collins-Perley, so people didn't even have to leave their vehicles.”

Community members pitched in wherever they could, donating an enormous amount of goods. In addition to food and cash donations, Cram the Complex volunteers also collected a Hannaford’s gift card, toys, and even a few bags of recyclable bottles.

“We haven’t returned them yet,” said Billings. “I think there were three trash bags full.”

The Franklin Grand Isle United Way is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of the Franklin-Grand Isle Communities. The organization does this by raising money through a community-wide campaign, identifying long-term and emerging needs, finding solutions to address those needs, and measuring results that show donors how their dollars are making a difference. For more information on Operation Happiness or the United Way of Franklin-Grand Isle, visit www.fgiunitedway.org, or call 802-527-7418.

Photos courtesy of Marilyn Billings:
(1) Volunteers Abbie Casey and Kayla Green help sort food donations.
(2) Michelle Spence, Cram the Complex volunteer, helps organize banana boxes filled with food donations.
(3) Teacher Al Daniels’ class at the Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax unloads a bus filled with food donations.
(4) Students and staff from Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax: Colby Russin, Maria Ormerod, Lyndzi LaCross, Paige Beyor, Nick Coon, Emily Johnson, Tyler King, Ben Bosland, Aidan Marble, Hudson Elredge, Lise Griswold, Al Daniels.