Lake County Gazette

KAHOKstrong, a student-based organization in Collinsville Community Unit School District 10, has launched a food drive to support the Collinsville Food Pantry. The initiative aims to help local families affected by the end of SNAP benefits and job losses.

Donations of nonperishable food items and money are being collected at several district locations, including Collinsville High School, Collinsville Middle School, Dorris Intermediate School, and the district office at 201 W. Clay Street. Additional collection points will be announced soon.

The most needed items include canned fruit, soup, vegetables, instant mashed potatoes, chili, pasta sauce, noodles or dry pasta, and hygiene products. Monetary donations can be sent via PayPal (kahokstrong1@gmail.com) or Venmo (last four digits 0756).

"KAHOKstrong is a student-based organization that was created to assist students, staff and families in Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 community during times of need."

Collinsville Community Unit School District 10 serves schools across Madison and St. Clair counties such as Caseyville Elementary School and Jefferson Elementary School among others. More information about the district’s schools can be found at https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/.

According to data from the Illinois State Board of Education, the district employs 418 teachers with an average salary of $60,392; women make up 81 percent of this workforce while men account for 19 percent. No teacher in the district had more than ten absences in a school year (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). The student population is composed of approximately 56 percent White students, 14.1 percent Black students, 24.1 percent Hispanic students, and 0.5 percent Asian students (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/). In 2020, spending per student was $16,872 for a total expenditure of $104 million (https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/).