In a week filled with depressingly bad news, locally, nationally and internationally, we were happy to write about a group of local high schoolers making a difference.

In Friday’s STJ, we reported that Southside teacher Dorothy Adams’ Jobs for Alabama Graduates class shined in a food collection contest for 27 Dallas County schools.

With all donations going to the Selma Area Food Bank, Adams’ class collected a whopping 804 pounds of food.

In all Dallas County schools collected 14,452-pounds, 2,423 of which came from Southside alone.

We applaud the efforts of all of the schools, classes, students and teachers that put in the time to make this food drive a rousing success.

Because these kids and their teachers cared enough to make a difference, there will be a family that won’t go hungry tonight.

Too often we remember to give at the holidays, but neglect the rest of the year.

Hunger knows no off-season, poverty doesn’t take a break after the New Year and the tireless workers in Dallas County schools have gone a long way towards stocking the Food Bank until the next holiday season when the rest of us remember to give.

Southside senior Darlene Atkins summed up the JAG class and their food-raising efforts. “We worked as a team.

We put our leadership skills together and accomplished the goal,” she said.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Work together, work hard and get things done.

Maybe we can apply those principles to the rest of Dallas County’s problems.