Groups spread holiday sporit with food drives
Campus Times
November 22, 1996
With Thanksgiving approaching, visions of turkey and candied yams may fill
the heads of some but for others it is a disheartening time because food
is hard to find. Two organizations on the University of La Verne campus
have decided to make a change and contribute can foods along with other
donations to help the needy.
Circle K Club, which is sponsored by the Upland Kiwanis club, is contributing
canned foods to St. Vincent De Paul food bank.
Going out into the La Verne community instead of relying on just ULV students,
the club is going door-to-door collecting cans. Vice President Kenia Magallanes,
a sopohomore, feels they will get more of a response that way. She says
that many students on campus do not keep cans in their room that they can
spare, while in the outside community most people have something to give.
The club visited residences Tuesday and Thursday. The members hope to keep
the same schedule next week all the way up to Thanksgiving.
"I want to get enough cans to say 'Hey this is our contribution,'"
said Magallanes. "That makes me happy, that some people are getting
something to eat at Thanksgiving."
The Circle K club is based on community service. During the Christmas holidays
they hope to have a book drive. They will send the children's books they
have collected to a boys home, but nothing is finalized yet.
Iota Delta sorority is the second organization on campus that has decided
to participate in a Thanksgiving fund-raiser.
The increase in membership has allowed Iota Delta to try new and different
things this year.
"We have the ability, since we're such a big group, to do many projects,"
said Shannon McCrea, Iota Delta president.
Beginning only three weeks ago, the sorority began collecting receipts from
Lucky's supermarket in order to cash them in for turkeys.
At every meeting, each member is required to bring in a canned good. A competition
between the members and their pledge class on who can bring in the most
cans is intended to spark motivation.
A rummage sale was also held at the beginning of November in Moreno Valley.
Items were donated by families to raise money for the food drive.
Turkeys and canned goods, along with the proceeds from the rummage sale
and Iota Delta's Homecoming booth, will be donated to the Pomona Valley
Council of Churches. They have the means to distribute everything.
Although Iota Delta has kept the fund-raising attempts mainly between members,
families and friends, anyone is welcome to contribute. The members are taking
a tally on all they have collected this Sunday, Nov. 23.
"For this project alone, we've probably raised about $300-$350,"
said McCrea.
Even though the drive started in the spur of the moment, the sorority hopes
to contribute whatever they can in this short amount of time.
"We can help, why not, let's do it," said senior Cherryl Cercado.
A Thanksgiving food drive is not one of Iota Delta's main focuses. Its main
philanthropy is cystic fibrosis research. This Christmas, the sisters plan
to host a Christmas program at Hillcrest Homes instead of the usual caroling
they do every year.
In the spring, they will also do the Clothesline Project in support of sexual
abuse victims.
If students are looking for other chances to get into the holiday spirit
and help others out this Thanksgiving, they can volunteer their time at
the Pomona Valley Council of Churches by calling (909) 629-3743.