RHINELANDER - For most of us, our Thanksgiving tables will be weighed down with food.

But some students in Rhinelander were worried about those who don’t have as much - so they weighed in with a donation.

Zion Lutheran School School has held a Thanksgiving food collection for about twenty years.

But this year, teachers gave students an extra incentive.

The principal and athletic director promised to shave their beard or head if students donated at least 1,000 pounds of food.

They nearly tripled that goal.

Zion's 80 students carried 2,900 pounds of food to the Rhinelander Food Pantry on Monday.

On Tuesday, they got their big payoff.

"Th first the thing that made me want to give food was to give glory to God and stuff," said fourth grader Caleb Korthals. "And then also because I wanted the teachers to lose their hair, like everyone wanted to."

"Our students are very excited, they're very proud of our accomplishments that we managed to bring in," said Paul Mildebrandt, who donated his hair to the cause. "Our students brought in more than 250 pounds of food per child in our school. And the kids are just excited that my head is shaved."

Principal Tim Ristow had to lose his beard, which he's had for 20 years.

But he said the sacrifice was worth it.

"We were pretty confident that the families would come through and the kids would come through. So I can't really say I was surprised at it. They just let their love for Jesus show through, and that didn't surprise me at all," he said.

Mildebrandt said he'd keep his head shaved until Christmas to reward the students for their big achievement.

Lucky for him, his fellow teachers also had a donation for him: a hat.

Story By: Lex Gray