GMC presents check to Can Do Good winners at Spanish Fort Elementary School

On March 19, Brandon Bias and Ashley Morris from the GMC Mobile office presented the students at Spanish Fort Elementary School with a check for $1,000 as the K-5 division winners of the 2017-18 Can Do Good Competition, in addition to $2,500 to the Prodisee Pantry to match the school’s donation. This year marked the school’s third year to participate in the competition and second year to win.

The third through fifth grade gifted students and student council at SFES teamed up to tackle their Can Do Good project and raised more than 5,256 canned goods and non-perishable items—the most collected by any team in the regional competition, including schools from Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. All of the items were donated to the Prodisee Pantry to benefit families in the local community, including students who may attend SFES.

Deann Servos, executive director of the Prodisee Pantry, accepted the check on behalf of the organization, noting that the non-profit would be able to purchase $10,000 worth of food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, with the matching donation.

When choosing a design for their Can Do Good structure, the gifted students found inspiration from the area being referred to as the “The Fort” and the many famous fort unique to gulf coast.  The “Fort De Jubilee” featured donated water bottles to resemble a moat, canons made of toothpaste and toothbrushes and a drawbridge made from plastic bag boxes and dental floss.

The finalists’ structures were reviewed by members of GMC’s professional architecture and engineering staff and judged based on overall theme, aesthetics, structural soundness, level of difficulty, creativity and community impact. Because of superior excellence demonstrated in all six categories, SFES was selected as the winner for the kindergarten through fifth grade division.

More than 12,000 canned goods and non-perishable food items were donated to food banks and charitable organizations throughout the Southeast through the regional Can Do Good competition this year.