VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Hundreds of students at Cox High School in Virginia Beach are helping the less fortunate this holiday season.
On a recent Friday afternoon, students organized an assembly line to pack bagged lunches that they donated to Union Mission.
The annual #lunchbag event grows bigger each November. Last year, students packed 1,500 lunch bags, and this year's goal was to pack 1,700 lunches in about 30 minutes.
“It’s amazing how we can have so many people from Cox High School come after school on a Friday to make as many bagged lunches for those who are less fortunate. I just find it amazing that a school is so close like that," said Junior Organizer Gresham Wall.
The lunches include a healthy snack, a turkey sandwich, a bag of chips and a motivational handwritten note by the students.
“The notes are just like a motivational saying, just something positive that goes into it for those people who don’t have everything that can just read it while eating their sandwich, and they can feel motivated and inspired," said Gresham Wall.
Working against the clock, the students have perfected the assembly lines in a bit of organized chaos. And after just 30 minutes, they far exceeded their goal and finished the afternoon with nearly 2,100 packed lunches.
“Now we’re packing up our cars - we have students cars and our parents' cars - we’re gonna pack it up and take it to Union Mission," said student organizer Savannah Gibson.
All of the food was donated by local businesses and organizations or by the students and teachers themselves.