by  Divya Kumar
News Editor

Video by Liz Meyer

This year, a series of fundraisers have benefited benefit the Coppell Food Pantry, an organization providing food for CISD students with families in need.

Teen Leadership Coppell – a group of 32 CHS juniors, selected for their leadership potential – organized a “Rock the Plaza” event on March 27 at the Coppell City Hall plaza, raising $454 in monetary donations and canned goods.

The event provided free barbecue and beverages, alongside performances by local talent. The crowd at the event was roughly around a hundred people.

“It was surprising, because we were scared only a few people would show up,” TLC junior Judy Hong said. “We started organizing this a bit late, and had some trouble compromising on an idea, so we didn’t have that long to advertise it. But it was great that so many people did end up coming, because it helped our event even more.”

The event itself turned out to be a compromise by the TLC juniors. It was decided a barbeque was a good idea, however the size and location of the event was a source of debate. In the end, the plaza was selected because of its availability.  TLC members donated money to provide free food to those in attendance in order to save all possible proceeds from the organization for the Food Pantry.

Amber Open Skies, comprising of four CHS juniors Chris Teel, Daniel Moomau, Tyler Murray and Ryan Williams, was the only band that performed, accompanying several individual performances by students such as junior Natalie Gale, as well as a duet by Hong and junior Mackenzie Orr.

“I did an Indian classical dance piece,” junior Srishti Goel said. “I’ve done these before, but doing this in front of a different crowd alongside very different performance pieces was something to remember, though.”

Junior Natalie Gale was one of the event coordinators as well as a performer. Along with other members of TLC, Gale helped to organize the venue, make sure that it was properly advertised and provide some of the entertainment.

“Most people had assigned jobs, but the people who stood up and took initiative were given the roles as coordinators for the event,” Gale said. “It was really stressful for a while, trying to get everything done, and it was really windy that day too, as an unexpected negative. Halfway through my performance, the wind blew my sheet music right off the stage.”

The lure of free food was able to bring in several CHS students, as well as community members, who in turn donated to the program either in the form of canned goods or a small monetary donation. The cans are arranged to go to the Food Pantry, while the money will most likely be turned into Walmart gift cards to be distributed to families in need.

“It took a lot of hard work and time to talk to different people and get everything set up,” TLC junior Michael Mahalik, who was in charge of organizing performances and the schedule of events, said. “But in the end it all worked out and paid off. It felt good to help those in need while providing community members with a good, free chance to bond.”