By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Westborough – Early in March, students in an after school club at the Sarah W. Gibbons Middle School participated in a unique project called GMS Canstruction Jr. Using over 1,100 cans of food that were donated by the school’s families, the students constructed a Rubik Cube. The plan was to then disassemble the cube and donate the cans to the Westborough Food Pantry.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.
For several weeks the cube stayed in place in the school’s lobby while Gibbons, like all other schools throughout the commonwealth, was shut down. Not only that, the Food Pantry was also shut down to the public, and for the safety of all, only accepting monetary donations.
But after a coordinated effort through the school’s administration, including Principal John Foley and Superintendent Amber Bock, those items will finally be going directly to those in need – families in the district who find themselves facing food insecurity.
Lynn Sullivan, an eighth-grade math teacher, and art teacher Becky Burgoyne wrote and received a grant with Westborough Education Foundation last year. The two proposed the school’s Canstruction, Jr. project after reading about Canstruction, a regional event hosted by the Boston Society of Architects in October each year.
“We thought it would be a fun way for the students to work together on project management concepts but also emphasize an awareness of hunger here in their own community,” she said.
All classes in the school first donated items for the project. A grant from the Westborough Education Foundation allowed the club to buy some additional smaller cans which would make up the cube’s top layer. Club members met several times after school to construct the cube, first sorting the cans by size and labels, and then putting it together.
“All of the creativity came from the kids,” Sullivan said.
In the week before the school shut down due to the pandemic, the cube was on display in the school’s lobby. During one afternoon session, several students put the finishing touches on the cube, as they described their pride in working on it.
“It was not hard, but it did take a long time,” Kaitlyn Morris, 13, said. “But it was worth it.”
Adrisa Roy, 12, agreed, noting “It makes me so happy that so much of the school donated to this project and that it is for such a good cause.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Vanesa Godoy said, “but also a nice thing that it will help so many.”
Just days after the students finished the project they found out that school would not be in session again for two weeks, and then until at least May 4.
The school’s staff knew that some of the district’s families were in desperate need of food, especially as so many parents or guardians were now finding themselves unemployed or temporarily furloughed from their jobs.
“We had all this food just sitting there,” Sullivan said. “It was frustrating and heartbreaking knowing that our students and their families needed it.”
But then, thanks to remarkable teamwork, a plan was put in motion. While Foley dismantled the cube, sorting it into types, other staff called families to see if they were in need. Bock and her husband then put food into boxes for delivery to the students.
“Everyone just really came together and found a way to get it done,” Sullivan said. “At the beginning of this project we never thought this would be how it all got dispersed. But the food will now be in the hands of those who need it.”
At this point, it is still uncertain if school is going to resume in early May. Originally, Sullivan had hoped to issue a challenge to other schools in the region to participate in a similar project, which would benefit those in need in their communities.
“I think we will do this again, hopefully, in the fall, and other schools will want to participate,” she said. “It’s such a fun way for kids to learn while also really making a significant impact.”
photos/courtesy Lynn Sullivan
