By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–“Can” took the place of “can’t” for two groups of Union City High School students who participated in the third annual Canstruction event at Discovery Park of America Friday.
Both UCHS teams earned first place in a specific category in competition between 10 teams that will ultimately benefit local charities Chimes for Charity, Helping Hand and WE CARE Ministries.
The combined entry of the Union City High School Art Club and Key Club won first place in Best Structural Ingenuity for its project entitled “Erasing Hunger.”
Hilary Webb and Carolyn Nipp serve as the club sponsors of the group, which worked after school and during class on the project for several weeks before putting it on display for judges Friday at DPA.
Another entry made up of members of UCHS carpentry classes of John Graham and Coby Watts took first place for Most Creative at Friday’s competition under the title “Donated Peace to Appetites.”
Those students utilized a table saw and miter saw for cutting quarter-inch plywood to level their rows of cans. They also had to learn to keep a tall, narrow, freestanding butterfly structure that was the centerpiece of their project plumb to prevent collapse.
The competition was again generously sponsored by Allen Searcy Builder Contractors and Westan Insurance Group, which donated $500 to each team to purchase canned goods.
UC’s two teams combined to use 1,530 cans in their projects. Teams were given three hours to construct their sculptures and were allowed to practice several weeks in their classrooms beforehand.
The Art/Key Club’s “Erasing Hunger” theme came with the following entry description:
“Everyone makes mistakes, that’s why pencils are made with erasers to give you a second chance. Hunger is a mistake that deserves to be erased. One in 5 children do not know where or when their next meal is coming. Don’t make the mistake of feeling like you don’t have the power to fix hunger.
“Mother Teresa said, ‘If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.’ We need to keep trying, keep erasing our mistakes, take another chance and keep striving to solve the hunger dilemma in our communities. A combination of beef broth, colorful vegetables and high protein beans provides the opportunity to make a mark and erase a few of the mistakes against hunger.”
Members of the Art/Key Club group included: Megan Burney, Eli Ervin, Ciara Gordon, Kimaria Jackson, Mariah Johnson, Chanyah Liphford, Kevin Lopez, Karen Morales, AJ Morris, Alexa Nolan, Jasmine Nugent, Jaelane Ortiz and Samantha Ortiz.
The UCHS construction class’s project entitled “Donated Peace to Appetite” came with the following declaration:
“The metamorphosis of a butterfly is symbolic of the beautiful transformations that occur in one’s community. In keeping with that idea, the members of this year’s Construction class at Union City High School have created this year’s slogan using an acronym for the Discovery Park of America: Donating Peace to Appetites.
“It is the humanitarian desire of our organization to bring about a benevolent change in our community’s heart by uniting our citizens to feed the hungry while providing them with loving peace for their families.”
Those carpentry students involved were Brian Arellano, Jose Godinez, Kyrell Littleton, Josh Lockridge, Mason Brinkley and Carter Watts.
This is the third year for the event that challenges student-based teams to build sculptures out of cans and then donate those cans of food to local charities.
It is estimated more than 8,500 meals will be provided to those in need from the cans used in the competition.
The sculptures will be on display at DPA throughout the month of November.
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