Cad4Hope celebrates 40 years of service

The kindness of one Bible teacher and his desire to instill performing acts of service in his students has grown over the years into a large community outreach effort in Collegedale and surrounding areas.

Originally named Project 5,000, the drive was founded in 1983 by the late teacher Richard Cadavero, nicknamed Cad. That year, Cadavero challenged his class to collect 5,000 cans of food to help those in need.

Today, Cad4Hope is an annual food drive led by students and staff of Collegedale Academy that stocks the food pantry of the Samaritan Center in Ooltewah for the entire year.

According to a news release, each fall, typically before the Thanksgiving holiday season, Collegedale Academy students go into local neighborhoods, accompanied by their parents and school staff, and hand out empty paper bags and flyers explaining their efforts.

Over the past 40 years, the annual project has grown into a service event.

Erin Barthle, associate executive director of the Samaritan Center, said the annual event has benefits for the community and the students.

“The Cad4Hope food drive is one of those win-win situations. It is an opportunity to see our young people living out Collegedale Academy’s mission to serve others and reflect Christ’s character,” she wrote in an email. “Through their service and the Cad4Hope food drive, the Samaritan Center receives the majority of the food we need to serve our community for the following year.”

In the past 12 months, the Samaritan Center has provided more than 40,000 food items to hungry families in the community, Barthle said.

This year’s event was held Nov. 14 with about 16,000 pounds of food collected.

Barthle said the number of community members involved was great.

“Over 390 students from Collegedale Academy took out over 8,000 paper grocery bags,” she wrote. “About 80 teachers, parents, pastors and volunteers drove the students into various neighborhoods.”

Five to 10 staff members from

the center and countless volunteers are processing the food, she said.

This year’s event was a milestone Barthle said needed to be highlighted.

“The 40th anniversary of the Cad4Hope food drive was celebrated by intentionally telling … Cadavero’s story of instilling a heart for service into students through various media outlets and social media,” Barthle wrote. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Collegedale Academy through the Cad4Hope food drive and providing an opportunity for our young people to exercise their hearts for service.”

In the release, Cadavero’s widow expressed pride in her late husband and the food drive named after him.

“He always wanted to do more than just teaching in the classroom,” Barbara Cadavero said. “He was immersed in this and making sure his students knew how to help others.”

“It is just wonderful that (the drive) has gone on this long,” she said. “It is so important for these students at this time in their lives when they are learning and realizing how much they can help the community.”