The Saturday before Thanksgiving, senior Mark Wanninger and a group of fellow ASB students delivered traditional Thanksgiving Day fare to six Sunnyvale fire stations.

"No one has really done anything lately to say thank you to the firefighters," Wanninger said.

The students collected some $300 in donations from fellow students, teachers, staff, family and friends. They went to Safeway and bought frozen turkeys, potatoes, mixed vegetables, cranberry sauce, apple cider, pumpkin pie and whipped cream, and delivered the groceries to the stations.

"All the firefighters were grateful, and they liked what we gave them," Wanninger said.

About 50 students participated in the class project that Wanninger said he hopes will become a tradition.

Wanninger, a senior, said he hopes others will continue the project next year.

He said the idea for the project came to him during a "dead week" in school activities. Homecoming had come and gone, and the leadership group was looking for a project.

John Larson, who was part of the Sunnyvale Explorers--a city program that gives youth exposure to community safety services--was particularly happy with the project.

"I want to be on the fire department one day. It felt good to help out my brothers," he said.

Deliveries were going along smoothly until the students hit Station 2.

"The station got a call and they left right in front of us," he said.

The crew returned about 30 minutes later.

Wanninger said the delivery to that station became meaningful when he learned that one of the firefighters there was a 1975 Fremont High School graduate.

About $130 was left over from the grocery purchases and Wanninger said the group will donate that money to Toys for Tots because that is a traditional charity favorite of firefighters.