Giving back to the community can mean a lot of different things. For the Student Athlete Advisory Committee it means over 7200 pounds of canned food with a goal to surpass that this year.
Chris Monroe, a junior track and field athlete and tourism major said he is excited to tangibly help the Edward’s Street Fellowship patrons.
The drive is scheduled to begin Nov. 7 and will run for a full week. Each school in Conference USA will be doing a similar drive at some point over the fall semester. The competitive side that drives these students to thrive in sports translates to excitement about the opportunity to compete against other schools while helping others.
The Edwards Street Fellowship uses up the food provided way before the next drive. The committee would love to be able to give the fellowship canned goods that will feed their patrons even longer.
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee is made up of 28 students from across the athletic teams. These individuals are the main ones who contribute their time and energy to the drives, but freshmen students are also required to volunteer. There will also be drives at local Corner Markets from Sunday, Nov. 9 through Thursday, Nov. 13. The student athletes will be helping to weigh and sort the food collected each day as well as assisting in delivering it to the Edwards Street Mission.
“I’m competitive so I’m excited about beating our record from last year, but the part I’m really excited about is helping give the food to the fellowship center,” Monroe said. “Seeing some of the people our hard efforts are actually going to help out will be really rewarding.”
The athletic department is offering rewards this year to giving back to the community. “The ticket promotion means that if a student, staff or faculty brings five cans to any of the tables or at the SAEP office, they will receive a free ticket to the Women’s Basketball Classic Tournament on Nov. 28 and 29,” said Dan Jacobs, academic counselor for the Student Academic Enhancement Program (SAEP).
He also added that if people do not have time to go and buy cans they can donate cash. There will be a jar at each P.O.D. around campus and at the Fresh Food Company. Also, people can donate to the USM fund through December by visiting the You Give Goods website and looking for USM SAAC hunger.
