Hunger drive concludes, results are in

For the past six weeks, area high schools have competed against each other, scrambling to collect food, for the 2012 Charlotte Student Hunger Drive.

The hunger drive concluded on Wednesday and students collected 112,902 pounds of non-perishable food items for Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.

The donation, worth more than $225,000, is an estimated 29 percent increase over last year's drive, according to Natalie Jenkins, spokeswoman for the hunger drive.

The results: 

Large School Division Winner ($2,000 award) – Fort Mill High School with 13.94 pounds per student   Small School Division Winner ($2,000) – Cabarrus Kannapolis Early College High School with 32.1 pounds per student
Large School Runner Up Winner ($1,000 award) – Nation Ford High School with 7.62 pounds per student
Small School Runner Up Winner ($1,000 award) – Hickory Ridge High School with 9.82 pounds per student
Most Innovative Idea Winner ($250 each) – A tie between South Mecklenburg High School for their “Vote for your CANdidate” event and Providence High School for their promotional ‘Canz A Make Her Dance’ video.
Biggest Increase ($500) – Nation Ford High School with a 113 percent increase over their 2011 total Food Lion Student MVP Award ($250 scholarship) – Bryanna Norwood, East Mecklenburg High School  

Photo courtesy of Natalie Jenkins.

Charlotte Preparatory students gain insight from veterans

Charlotte Preparatory School spent time on Nov. 5 honoring veterans and their service to the United States.

As part of the celebration and tribute, students listened to stories from a guest speaker - Korean War veteran, Edward McCabe. McCabe, grandfather of third grade student, Ronan McCabe, told the students about how he and his fellow soldiers survived a battle at the Chosin Reservoir by eating Tootsie Rolls. 

Parents and grandparents of several students joined the celebration to be recognized for their military service.

The school also recognized military personnel serving in current conflicts. VFW Post 9488 Commander Lewis Hunt presented an American flag to Emily Thompson, the widow of U.S. Army Special Forces Capt. David "J.P." Thompson. Capt. Thompson, father of two Charlotte Prep lower school students, died in 2010 during his deployment to Afghanistan.

To wrap up the day, Charlotte Prep families donated seven boxes filled with food,  iTunes gift cards and wet wipes, among other items, to military personnel. Students also included personal letters and cards for the soldiers.

Photos:
(Top) Korean War veteran Edward McCabe tells Charlotte Preparatory School students that he and fellow soldiers survived a fierce battle eating only Tootsie Rolls.
(Bottom) VFW Post 9488 Commander Lewis Hunt presents an American flag to Emily Thompson, the widow of U.S. Army Special Forces Capt. David "J.P." Thompson, during a Charlotte Preparatory School assembly honoring veterans. Photos courtesy of David Long.

Seventh grader outshines adult competitors

Age isn’t a factor for William Shuford, a seventh grader at Charlotte Preparatory School who placed higher than his adult competitors at the 39th Annual Lipkin-Pfefferkorn Open adult chess tournament.

At the Charlotte event, held Oct. 26-28, William, 13, placed first in two divisions and tied for second in another.

For his wins, William received a $250 prize. He ranks in the 73rd percentile among U.S. Chess Federation rated junior players and in the 59th percentile among all players rated in North Carolina.

For more information about the federation, visit http://www.uschess.org/.

Photo: Courtesy of David Long.

Young Achiever needs your vote

Back in August of last year, Young Achievers received advice from Olivia Stinson, a then freshman at Winston-Salem State. Olivia, a former Mallard Creek High graduate, founded PEN Pals, a reading club and support group for youth with incarcerated parents.

Recently, Olivia has been named a L'Oreal Paris International 2012 Woman of Worth. The award recognizes 10 honorees from across the country for their dedication to philanthropy.

The 19-year-old was selected from a pool of more than 3,000 women nationwide, according to L'Oreal Paris.

Each of the 10 nominees chosen received $10,000 for her charity, and will also be recognized at an awards ceremony and dinner on Dec. 6 in New York City.



But the final winner will be decided by the public. From Nov.5-21, members of the public are asked to vote for their favorite candidate.

The winner of the vote will receive $25,000 to use for her charity.



To vote, visit http://www.womenofworth.com.

Photo: Courtesy of Olivia Stinson

New Jersey students discover overnight solution to gas crisis

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, millions were left without power, searching for food, and struggling to find open gas stations.

A group of high school students in New Jersey came to the rescue of those struggling to find gas stations open and with resources. Members of IMSOCIO at Franklin High School created, overnight, a crowdsourced map that locates open gas stations in the New York and New Jersey area.

The map identifies stations by using green, red, or yellow pins. Each color represents an open, sold out, or charging gas station.

To date, the Huffington Post reports that the map identifies about 100 stations.

To view the interactive map, visit: http://mappler.net/gasstation/.

Senior prepares students for 2012 Election Day

With Election Day just around the corner, a Providence High senior is helping to prepare and inform his peers.

Arjun Gupta collaborated with GenerationNation, formerly known as Kids Voting Mecklenburg, to create a student voter guide. His guide includes information about the U.S. House, County Commission, the North Carolina General Assembly, and Register of Deeds, among other materials.

In the guide, Arjun explains he came up with the idea to create the document after he found little public information about candidates for Mecklenburg County offices.

Charlotte-area students who are ineligible to vote in the 2012 presidential election have the opportunity to participate through the Kids Voting mock election.

This is the 20th year GenerationNation has offered the non-partisan educational program in Charlotte, according to their website.

To access the Arjun's voter guide, visit: http://www.generationnation.org/documents/youthvoterguide.pdf

To participate in Kids Voting, visit http://generationnation.org.

Get up, get out, read a book

Forecasters are predicting a sunny weekend in Charlotte, with highs in the low 60s - pleasant weather in the Queen City for the third annual Rock & Read 5K Run & Festival.

Friends of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the library, will host the event Nov. 3 at the Scaleybark Branch Library, located at 101 Scaleybark Rd. in Charlotte.

For those not up for a 5K, there will also be a 1-mile run/walk, and a kids dash featuring Chubby from the Charlotte Checkers. At every mile marker, there will be music to encourage participants.

The event will also include live music, food and drinks. All proceeds from the Rock & Read 5K benefit the books and materials budget for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

To learn more or to register for the race, visit www.cmlibraryfriends.org and click on Rock & Read 5K.

Event Schedule
5:45 a.m. - Volunteer Check-In

6:45 a.m. - 7:45 a.m. Registration/Chip & T-shirt Pickup 

8 a.m. - 5K Run/Walk

8:15 a.m. - 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk

9 a.m. - Kids’ Dash 

9:30 a.m. - 5K Awards Presentation