![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)
![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)
![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)
Serving Students Over the Summer: Update
Continue reading to find out more about how students are obtaining food they need over the summer, and how you can help.
media by Kira Zizzo
Feature image for Summer Food Update, displaying meal bags ready for students and families to pick them up. PC: June Everett
July 13, 2021
For many students, summer means no school, warm weather, and summer activities. For some students, however, summer means hunger. Two programs in Douglas County are trying to end food insecurity over the summer.
Douglas County School District (DCSD) Nutrition Services Summer Feeding:
DCSD Nutrition Services is working this summer to make sure no one under 18 years of age faces hunger.
“We are able to provide free meals to anyone ages 18 and under regardless of their income,” DCSD Nutrition Services Training Specialist Kristina Keer said.
The Summer Feeding has been actively providing meals for three weeks, and has served over 117,000 meals in these first weeks, according to Keer.
The Summer Feeding program includes walk-up sites in Castle Rock, Parker, and Highlands Ranch Monday through Friday. A seven-day meal bag pickup is also available on Wednesdays from 11:30am-12:30pm.
Check this link for more information.
Backpack Society:
The Backpack Society is an independent organization that works with Douglas County to provide meals to all students and their families who need them.
“Our mission is to fill the food gap on weekends and during school breaks for students, thus eliminating hunger as a barrier to the student so they can be at their best and have every opportunity to thrive and learn,” Backpack Society founder June Everett said. “We currently support 20 schools!”
The Backpack Society offers five programs: the Student Weekend Program (during the school year), the Family Program (during the school year), School Staff Program (during the school year), School Pantry Program, and the Summer Program, which provides food for the entire week.
Students can volunteer for the Backpack Society to help students and families in need and to give back to their community.
“I loved volunteering at the Backpack Society because it was a reminder that there are still good people out there that want to help,” Marissa Segal ‘21 said. “With so much negativity, it was refreshing to see so much good.”
The Backpack Society is currently accepting donations and volunteers. Check their website for more information. You can sign up here to volunteer.