CHILLICOTHE — In the month of October of 2011, IVC High School in Chillicothe donated 6,839 pounds of clothing and shoes to Goodwill, during the third annual Recycle Your Own contest.
IVC High School easily won the contest after donating nearly doubled the amount of clothing and shoes that second-place Farmington High School donated. Following Farmington High School, who donated 3,446 pounds, Canton High School finished third in the competition with 3,230 pounds, followed by Stark County High School who donated 2,444 pounds and Washington High School who donated 1,604 pounds.
More than 25 high schools in Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois’ 21-county territory competed in the contest and donated more than 22,000 pounds of clothing and shoes to Goodwill collectively.
Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois started the annual contest in 2009.
“Recycle Your Style started in 2009 as a high school-based donation drive,” said Jim Lynch, the Director of Community Development for Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois. “The purpose was to engage teens as donors to Goodwill through recycling their clothes, coats, shoes, etc. Over the three years of its existence, Recycle Your Style has ballooned into a real community-wide donation drive, in which many of the towns have rallied around the local high school to help support them during the month-long competition. The clothing we receive can come from anyone in the community, in support of the local high school.”
Stark County won the inaugural contest in 2009 and Eureka High School won the contest in 2010.
IVC High school participated in the contest for the first time in 2011.
“School administration heard about the contest through an informational email or flyer that I received from Goodwill,” said IVC High School Principal Kenton Bergman. “The students and other community members were informed of the contest via announcements, emails, letters, word-of-mouth, etc.”
The clothing and shoes donated during the contest are sold at Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois retail stores.
“The clothes are sold in any one of our nine retail stores located throughout Central Illinois, “said Lynch. “Proceeds from the sales of these donated clothes go to support free programs that help homeless veterans, at-risk youth and people who are working to better their lives.”
All three winners of the annual contest have received a SMART Board that was donated by Bradfield’s Computer Supply of Peoria.
IVC High School installed the SMART Board they received for winning the contest in a social science classroom.
“The SMART Board was installed in a social science classroom,” said Bergman. “It is being used to support student learning through various instructional strategies.”
Before receiving the donated SMART Board, IVC High School had already installed SMART Boards in several classrooms, as part of a community-wide effort to install the interactive whiteboards in District 321 facilities.
“Last summer, the district, parents and IVC community as a whole partnered together in an effort to put SMART Boards through the district,” said Bergman. “At the high school, many of our classrooms and teachers received SMART Boards. The SMART Board that we won through this contest was installed in a classroom that did not receive on last summer.”
According to Bergman, SMART Boards encourage students to engage themselves in the learning process.
“Instructional technology, such as a SMART Board supports the learning experience of the students by increasing engagement, focus, attention, interest level, use of resources, integration of instructional resources, and enjoyment of the learning process,” said Bergman.
