Pictured from left are Laury Marshall, Parent as Teachers coordinator; Ari Whitmore; and Lisa Kyler, school counselor. Submitted photo

Fourteen local families will have an extra reason to be thankful this Easter Holiday, thanks to the work of Southwestern Elementary School fourth-grade student Ari Whitmore.

In years past Southwestern Elementary has held food drives for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but this year Whitmore came up with the idea to hold another drive in the spring, with a few touches of his own.

“Ari asked to meet with (assistant Principal Matthew Kindberg) and I about an idea he had about starting a food drive for elementary students this spring,” Southwestern Elementary Principal Matt Langworthy said. “Mr. Kindberg and I brought Lisa Kyler, elementary school counselor, and Laury Marshall, Parents as Teachers coordinator, to join us in meeting with Ari. In helping Ari shape his vision, we decided that we would identify families that we could help this spring and would arrange a food and toy drive at the elementary school.”

Ari and his father, Sam Whitmore, placed a post on Facebook and received over $700 in donations for the campaign, in addition to reaching out to local businesses and spreading the world to students and staff at Southwestern Elementary.

“Ari was adamant that in addition to Easter candy, we include healthier foods such as fresh and canned fruits and vegetables,” Langworthy said.

A donation box was put in place at the school, and school resource officer Kyle Cashmore donated seven gift cards to Peterson Farms for the campaign on behalf of the Ellicott Police Department.

On March 25, donations were collected and placed into baskets to be distributed to families in need, who were contacted by Marshall and Kyler.

“We’ve never done any sort of food drive in the spring and we would not have without Ari,” Langworthy said. “We helped him kind of shape his vision and with that vision we were able to identify some families in need.”