Conejo Valley Teens Collect 3,000 Pounds for Food Bank

Generosity just reached an inspiring new high in Southern California thanks to a determined team of young volunteers. By reimagining how they gather donations, local youth and their mothers delivered nearly 3,000 pounds of essential groceries to neighbors in need.

The Conejo Valley Chapter of the National Charity League completely transformed its annual collection drive for the Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank. Instead of walking random neighborhood routes, the young women reached out directly to their own circles of friends, family, and classmates with a customized pantry wishlist.

The thoughtful pivot paid off in a massive way. Donations skyrocketed from 120 bags last year to 347 bags, nearly doubling the total haul from 1,500 pounds to roughly 1.48 tons of nutritious food.

Ticktockers, the program's members aged 12 to 18, focused on specific pantry staples like canned meats, hearty soups, pasta sauces, oatmeal, and personal toiletries. Between packing boxes, the girls gathered into grade-level squads to build creative, towering architectural sculptures out of the collected cans.

The dedicated teens logged nearly 240 service hours during the event. They also designed more than 200 handmade cards featuring encouraging personal messages to pack alongside the groceries.

Hometown partners gladly supported the effort. Gelson’s donated over 300 sturdy paper grocery sacks, while Mister Softee delighted the volunteers with afternoon soft-serve ice cream.

The Ripple Effect

This record-breaking haul brings immediate relief to the estimated 20,000 residents throughout the Conejo Valley who currently experience food insecurity. The success follows another compassionate victory earlier this fall, when the chapter collected 4,555 menstrual products to fight period poverty among unhoused neighbors.

Through thirty different regional partnerships, these mother-daughter duos contribute more than 10,000 volunteer hours every single year to lift up their community.

When young leaders combine creative thinking with open hearts, they prove that meaningful change begins right in our own backyards.