Bettendorf raises over $1,700 at PV for Fill the Truck

Fill the Truck collected more donations than last year at the annual event on Friday, Aug. 30, during the Bettendorf at Pleasant Valley football game. The monetary and food donations go to the Student Hunger Drive.

Bettendorf raised $1,705, while Pleasant Valley raised just over $2,000. Even though Bettendorf only dominated on the field with their 20-6 win against Pleasant Valley, BHS Student Council raised $400 more on the Spartans’ turf than last year at home.

Fill the Truck is the first event for the upcoming Student Hunger Drive, which will occur from Oct. 2 to Nov. 14. Each year, this event is hosted by the home school of the football game and sponsored by Lindquist Ford, which donates two trucks for the rival schools to fill with nonperishable donations.

To incentivize the student body, BHS Student Council had a “Bettpride” wheel for the chance to win prizes.

“We had prizes that included candy, beads, drawstring bags, t-shirts, coupons from the booster club, and more,” Olivia Wiley said.

Besides the wheel, the event included a Minute-to-Win-it competition where each school’s student council ran through the stands to collect donations.

“My favorite part of this event was seeing the participation from the student body on our first Hunger Drive event. We raised a lot of money and cans to kick off the Hunger Drive, and there are still many more opportunities to come for students to donate,” Wiley said.

Together, Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley raised over two and a half truck beds of nonperishables and $3,700.

Student Council advisors Kaitlin Mahoney and Christina Burroughs run the Fill the Truck table with students members (left to right) Chase Mason, Ryan Harris, and Abby Behrends.