All BV students who eat in the commons have had a certain man offering to collect the trash on their table near the end of the lunch period. That’s Mr. David Briggs.

Briggs is the teacher of Drafting, Intro to Engineering Design and Woodworking. He also helps with lunchroom supervision because there was a need for extra assistance.

“It’s a little bit difficult to get teachers who want to [work in the cafeteria],” he said. “When I first came to the district, I was asked to help out, and I just don’t mind doing it.” 

Since last school year, Briggs has been turning food that would go to waste into something impactful. 

“I collect all the leftover carrots, apples, and fruit [to] give to the homeless,” Briggs said. “Part of the reason I go through with the trash is [because] oftentimes [students] are going to throw it away anyway, so I just collect it then. I don’t get a lot that way but I’ve also learned doing lunchroom supervision that if I get your trash and pick it up, you won’t be sitting there wondering what else you might want to deal with.”

Some students grab an apple or carrot bag on their way out of the cafeteria but never end up eating it. So many tend to do that, that Briggs collects a good amount of bags. 

“I usually get about two and a half [grocery-sized full] bags per day — [I] fill up a refrigerator every week,” Briggs said. “I have, embarrassingly to say, three refrigerators in my household, so every night I take the food home and put it in the refrigerator. On the weekends, I either deliver it up to a place where they take it or there’s a lady who comes to my house and picks it up.”

Briggs started being involved with homeless organizations over three years ago when he first saw the conditions people were living in. 

“[My neighbor] invited me [and so] I volunteered to do some of the cooking and fixing some of the food for them,” he said. “I went out and saw the condition. They were homeless living. It was surprising to me that many of those folks, they don’t by choice want to be there. At that point, I do what I can to help out whenever I can.”

Although Briggs donates for the purpose of extending a hand to those in need, he also hopes that by doing so, he could make an impact on the students. 

“If I can teach kindness to people, it’s worth a lot to me,” Briggs said. 

He added that if his students don’t remember the things he taught in class schoolwork-wise, he wants them to always remember something even more important.

“If they remember the kindness and consideration for each other, that’s worth a fortune,” he said. “That would be the one takeaway I hope they always keep with them.”