The John Cooper School presents annual ‘CANstruction’ dedication ceremony

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Students, faculty, and administrators at The John Cooper School unveiled an annual humanitarian project at a dedication ceremony on campus earlier this week. The CANstruction Project is a signature program in which students design, engineer, secure donations, and build a house with cans of food – all in partnership with the Montgomery County Food Bank – in an ongoing effort to fight food insecurity in our community.

At the ceremony, Class of 2024 Student Body President Ben Knight gave a welcome, then turned the lectern over to junior Avery Boyd, Chair of the project this year.

“I got involved with my journey to CANstruction leadership board in my freshman year because I wanted to get involved in student government, and I heard about this project and felt it was a great fit for me because I have always been interested in helping those who have experienced food insecurity. I’ve volunteered for the Food Bank in the past, and luckily this project has been a success,” she Avery told Woodlands Online. “It’s heartwarming to know the entire student body gets involved and how everyone tries to do their part to help those less fortunate than us.”

Attendees were feted by The John Cooper School Drumline under the direction of Aaron Guillory.

Interact, a major student-level organization, showed its presence and dedication with words from senior Ava Perugini, Interact Club President. Next, senior Sophie Brown, VP of CLAWES, discussed the impact of food insecurity on pets, who suffer from hunger pangs as much as humans.

Dr. Stephen Popp, Head of The John Cooper School, talked about his immense pride in the student body and their support groups, including parent volunteers and teachers going above and beyond for the project.

“Today is a special day as we commemorate a tremendous amount of our community partnering with MCFB led by Kristine and her wonderful team. Together we fight against food insecurity in Montgomery County,” he told Woodlands Online. “This year is a true inspiration to see the way our students, our parents, and entire community get together in this endeavor to build this house of cans and also for our feline and canine friends. It’s a true testament to the acts of selfless service our students endeavor to do each and every week and year, and we’re really proud of all their accomplishments.”

Next to speak was Kristine Marlow, President and CEO of Montgomery County Food Bank, who attended with key members of her staff, including Ashley Logan, director of development; John Kreger, director of sourcing and sustainability; Reagan Franks, senior director of operations; Ryan Redmer; programs team manager; and Tyler Schievelbein, marketing and communications manager.

“This is such an amazing opportunity between The John Cooper School and Montgomery County Food Bank where students here create this project, they fundraise for it, they market it, they build it, and afterwards they donate this lovely, healthy food to the food bank so that we can distribute it to people in need. It’s a full circle way that the students are impacting the community,” she told Woodlands Online.

The ceremony concluded as Draco, the school’s mascot currently inhabited by sophomore Lucas Frome, presented Marlow and other staff from MCFB with a check for more than $13,000.

Dr. Popp’s pride in his students was evident. “The students are the drivers of this project; they promote it, they’re the ones who have innovative ideas to improve and to expand our efforts each year. We’re really fortunate to have great kids here who really believe in this cause and uniting this community together.”

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