Principal camps out on school roof for canned food donations

CHERRY HILL » Last year, Principal James Riordan got a pie tossed in his face when Richard Stockton Elementary School students met their goal in a schoolwide drive to support the Cherry Hill Food Pantry.

Not long after the whipped cream was wiped away, the principal approached fifth grade teacher David Sonnheim with a challenge that raised the stakes for this season of giving — literally.

Would Sonnheim, who grew up in the township and calls it home, pitch a tent on the roof of the school and spend the night up there if students donated at least 2,000 cans of nonperishable food?

A 1998 graduate of Cherry Hill West, Sonnheim is not a camper. In fact, when reached by phone after school, the teacher told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill that his overnight on the Middle School roof was his first “camping” experience.

“I don’t know why I was the one chosen for this, but it sounded interesting,” he said, “. . . an adventure. And it’s not hard to convince me to do something that’s a good cause and for the kids. I said ‘sure, why not?’”

Riordan says he can’t take credit for the idea, as a faculty member at Cherry Hill East had done it at least once before to entice kids to donate to a blood drive.

“Last year I took a pie to the face, so this year I said, ‘How about if we try this?’” Riordan said. “I know going to Dave, Dave will never say no . . . He’s a great guy. And we wanted to give the kids a goal and something to look forward to. They really got excited about that.”

And excited they were, hauling in 2,077 cans of food for a total of 18,000 pounds during the three-week challenge. It was time to break out that sleeping bag.

Riordan, a Boy Scout troop master, outfitted Sonnheim’s campsite with his own gear, he said, making sure he was cozy and warm.

“He put in a cot, and a pretty good sleeping bag in case it got too cold. It was a decent space,” said Sonnheim. “Once they got me up there with all my stuff, the PTA brought a little food and some treats.”

Sonnheim took his post at 2:45 p.m. Monday afternoon and students were dismissed to greet him from the ground at 3 p.m. He didn’t come back down until 9:20 the next morning, he said, “minus two bathroom breaks.”

He may have been alone up there, but Sonnheim said he didn’t have much chance to get lonely.

For one thing, he said, a lot of parents didn’t quite believe a teacher was camping on the school’s roof, and drove their kids by to check it out Monday evening, many bringing hot cocoa, coffee or other snacks. And Cherry Hill police stopped by throughout the night to make sure the novice camper was also a happy one.

Sonnheim says some of his students were concerned a fox might make its way to the roof and assured them his experience was wildlifefree. Well, except for one type of regional bird . . .

“The Eagles played that night, so I was watching the Eagles up there. And I had a lot of visitors just swing by and say hi and take pictures, tossing food up at me!” He also played Super Mario 2, he said, and watched some Netflix on his phone.

With the challenge behind him, Sonnheim said he hopes he gets to help choose next year’s challenge. “It’s not going to be easy to top this one. Maybe (the principal) will let me give some input.”

Food donations were delivered to the food pantry on Thursday, Riordan said, a delivery that required borrowing a box truck from the school district.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the students and with the staff, the PTA and parents and everyone who donated,” Riordan said, adding that students in John Finnegan’s third grade class played a big role in planning, promoting and executing the food drive.