Holiday Service Project Committee members are hoping for a last-minute avalanche of donations during the final days of the food drive, but if it doesn’t happen, the Food for Fines program at the Kraemer Family Library helped make the 2011 project a success.
With the service project concluding Dec. 7, a good number of giving tree tags were taken but have yet to find their way back attached to gifts. Monetary donations are down this year too, according to committee co-chair Sherry McDonnell, accountant, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. But despite the effects of a depressed economy, 26 families were adopted and will be receiving gifts and food baskets this holiday season.
McDonnell said donations are used to buy grocery store gift cards to accompany the food baskets. This enables recipients to buy what they want or need individual, usually meat, fresh produce and other perishable foodstuff, that can’t be included in the food basket. The committee is hoping for funds totaling enough to make it possible to buy a $40 gift card for each family.
But even in a worst case scenario, each adopted family will receive a gift basket full of canned goods, boxes of cereal and other non-perishables. And many of those items are the result of the Food for Fines library program that has collected over 500 items.
The Food for Fines program allows patrons a $1 credit toward library fines for every non-perishable food item brought in to the Main Circulation Desk. Whether for making a bargain, supporting a worthy cause, or both, students seem to be responding positively to the program.
Holidrop donation boxes for non-perishable food items are in Main Hall, University Hall, Osborne Hall, Dwire Hall, Columbine Hall, Centennial Hall, the Engineering Building, Family Development Center, the Kraemer Family Library, Cragmor Hall, Campus Services Building, Public Safety, the Bookstore and University Center.
Cash collection boxes are in the LAS Dean’s Office in Columbine Hall, University Hall, the Bookstore, University Center information desk, Dwire coffee counter, ENT in University Center, Clyde’s, Public Safety, Jazzman’s, the Bursar’s Office and the Kraemer Family Library. Checks are also acceptable and should be made payable to UCCS Holiday Service Project.
Contact either of the project co-chairs with any questions. McDonnell may be reached at 255-4320 or [email protected]. Sheryl Botts, program assistant, College of Letters Arts and Sciences, may be reached at 255-4074 or [email protected].
Committee members are:
Beverly Kiselich, Carla Myers, Gudrun McCollum, Heidi Schwab, Ian Smith, Kerry Peterson, Kristina Woods, Kurt Johnson, Mary Lile, Mary McGill, Nancy Gadachy, Rosemary Kelbel, Tish Fleener, and Valerie McClinton.
See previous articles about the service project at: https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=5045 and Food for Fines at https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=5367.
— Photos by Ron Fitz, University Advancement
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