Taking the initiative to help others

BETTER TO GIVE—Ariana Dermand, 12, was inspired by a Thousand Oaks Acorn article about the Manna food bank shortage and decided to do her part to help out. She organized a food drive for Manna with bags donated from local supermarkets and distributed them in her Newbury Park neighborhood. Ariana collected more than 70 bags full of nonperishables and will help Manna further by volunteering to stock their shelves. Ariana is an honors student at Sequoia Middle School.