St. Patrick's Catholic High School students, staff and volunteers are getting ready to pound the pavement again this weekend.
They'll be going door-to-door seeking donations of non-perishable food and hygiene items Saturday, April 1, as part of the Cyclone Aid food drive.
Teacher Vanessa Borody said they will be canvassing Sarnia, Bright’s Grove and Point Edward.
"We always try to do it the week before Easter, so we can get the pantry stocked at the Inn of the Good Shepherd," said Borody. "So, we're going to be heading out on April 1. We'd like to canvas the whole city like we did for Irish Miracle. We'd love to see a similar success, so it will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. We'll have students knocking on doors and if people leave their bags out, we can grab them and it's going to be very similar to the [collection] that happened in December."
Close to 1,400 boxes of food, weighing close to 62,000 pounds, were donated during the Irish Miracle event.
Borody is aiming to collect between 6,000 to 9,000 bags of donations during Cyclone Aid.
"That would be amazing! We know how much the Inn needs it right now. We know we're asking a lot of the community. We know that within a few short months we will be knocking on their doors twice and asking them to give more."
Borody hopes to see the same amount of participation.
"We noticed [during Irish Miracle] there were a lot of Grade 9's out in full force because they've never done anything like this before. So, we're really hoping that they draw on that, and think, this is just something I'm always going to do. I'll do two every year until school's done and it will be just part of their experience. But we also, of course, want all of the [Grade] 10's, 11's and 12's."
Borody said the event isn't just for St. Pat's students.
"If there is anybody in the city that is interested in volunteering, you can come out with your young kids, your grandkids, you can come out with a group of friends. All you have to do is contact the school and ask specifically to be directed to myself," Borody said.
Borody said she's more than happy to put extra groups together.
"Even though it is a St. Pat's community effort, there are students from all over the city that would be more than welcome to come. I will sign off on their [volunteer] hours that go toward their [required] 40 for graduation."
Borody said she'll register new volunteers until the end of the school day Friday.
Those interested can email her at vanessa.borody@sccdsb.net.