Kirtland youth group gathers goods for needy Published May 14, 2015 By Lee Ross Nucleus editor KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Heather Hutzell, a teacher for the Youth Center, brought a dozen students outside the Commissary to help with a good cause. Stuff the Bus, the Youth Center's an annual donation drive, gathers canned and non-perishable goods for the Roadrunner Food Bank, which distributes food to 70,000 people throughout the state every week. The group of elementary-age students, who were dressed in "Helping Hands Club" T-shirts to promote the club that organized the event, weren't all initially aware of the cause they were working for, though. About 30 minutes into the donation drive on May 6, Hutzell had the students gather around her. "Listen up," she said. "We are not collecting food for 'Some random charity.' It's for the Roadrunner Food Bank, and we only take nonperishable food. Y'all got it?" Alexis Chino and Natasha Liddy, students who volunteered to help with the drive, are best friends who said they came because they like helping out. Kari McMurry, who was there to help Hutzell, said these are kids who are learning a valuable lesson. "It's cool to see the kids get excited about volunteering," she said.