Sandalwood Heights Secondary School attempts to set Guinness World Record to relieve hunger

Accenture, Loblaw Companies Ltd. donate logistics, groceries in support of local food banks

BRAMPTON, ON, Dec. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Editors Note: Photos for this release will be available on the Canadian Press picture wire.

B-roll footage of the event will be available via satellite on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 to 7:45 p.m. Eastern

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Sandalwood Heights Secondary School students, staff, community partners and students from neighbouring schools will attempt to set a Guinness World Record on Dec. 18 by assembling 1,000 hunger relief packages simultaneously. The current record—555 packages—was set by Walmart associates in Arkansas in May 2012. Accenture and Loblaw Companies Ltd. have donated all of the food and logistical support for the assembly and delivery of the packages to local food banks.

"The holiday season is a time when local food banks look for community support to help provide for families in need," says Karen Guyatt, principal at Sandalwood Heights. "Bringing staff, students and sponsors together to give back to our community will be a rewarding experience for all involved and have a profound impact on the lives of Peel families. If we can set a Guinness World Record while giving back, all the better."

Package assembly will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the school's gymnasium where 500 participants will assemble 1,000 packages simultaneously. Participants will pack 10 non-perishable food items into each package, at the same time, and have three minutes to complete the record attempt.  

Notes David Hilgendorff, head of technology at Sandalwood Heights and event organizer, "Bringing this many participants together for a worthwhile cause is an exciting opportunity. We appreciate the support of Accenture and Loblaw and look forward to 'cramming' the delivery truck."

"Working together with Loblaw and the students at Sandalwood Heights, we are committed to helping improve the communities in which we live and work," says Jeff Goldberg, managing director, Accenture. "Delivering high performance begins with setting ambitious goals, and we are proud to be contributing to this large-scale project to deliver meals to those in need, and try for a Guinness World Record."  

After the record attempt, hunger relief packages will be loaded onto delivery trucks, beginning at 3 p.m. The packages will then be delivered to local food banks, including the Brampton Salvation Army and the Knights Table. "Making a positive difference in our community is important to the way we do business at Loblaw and we are happy to support, along with Accenture and Sandalwood Heights as they work to make a difference in their community," says Peggy Hornell, director of community investment, Loblaw Companies Limited. "We wish the students all the best and applaud them for their creativity in supporting those in need this holiday season."

Sandalwood Heights is located at 2671 Sandalwood Parkway E. in Brampton. For more information about the current Guinness World Record, visit www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/1/most-hunger-relief-packages-assembled-simultaneously.

About the Peel District School Board
The Peel board is Canada's largest school board outside of Toronto. It serves 153,000 kindergarten to grade 12 students in 242 schools located in Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga. For more information, visit the board's website at www.peelschools.org.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies. Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Loblaw Companies LimitedTSX:L
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ more than 134,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points and PC Plus™ loyalty program.

SOURCE: Peel District School Board

Media contact: Karen Guyatt, Principal, Sandalwood Heights Secondary School, Peel District School Board, 905-494-0023, [email protected] 

David Hilgendorff, Head of Technology, Sandalwood Heights Secondary School, Peel District School Board, 905-494-0023, [email protected] 

Meaghan Moroz, NATIONAL Public Relations, 416-848-1450 or 416-568-1950, [email protected]

Loblaw Public Relations, 905-459-2500, [email protected]

Reference: Ryan Strang, Communications Assistant, Peel District School Board, 905-890-1010, ext. 2725, [email protected]

Note to media: A complete agenda is available by contacting Ryan Strang at 905-890-1010, ext. 2725.