Around 2008, DeMatha Catholic High School unknowingly started a tradition that has embodied what it means to be a DeMatha Stag. That year, principal Dr. McMahon and fellow staff encouraged students to donate canned goods which DeMatha would take to various food pantries.
The goal for the amount of cans started at just 3,000 but increased year after year, passing 10,000 a few years ago. This year’s goal is 13,000 cans, a thousand more than the school’s 2023 goal but about 4,000 fewer than DeMatha actually collected a year ago.
A few years after the start of the food drive, the pantry that these cans have been delivered to visited the school and showed Dr. McMahon that the 12,000 cans that DeMatha gave them is keeping them in business. Ever since then, the students have been promised with a day off the following Monday if they reach their goal.
Donation has always been a pillar in DeMatha culture. For example, the school has donated to multiple causes such as MOMCares, a cause that is trying to combat the maternal death rate in African American families, as well as the previously mentioned food pantries. Through these donations, we continue to become a better DeMatha community!
