Cans to Candelaria
Our 2008 food drive was a success! We collected more than three times what we collected in 2007. As of Thursday, Oct. 9, the official day of the drive, we collected 25,444 pounds of cash and cans. Student Dietetic Association won back the trophy for first place, School of Communication came in second and University Libraries came in third. Thanks to everyone who participated! The names of the groups who participated and their “poundage” are available here (PDF). The names of the winners of the challenges are listed here (PDF). As of Tuesday, Oct. 14, $544 additional dollars have been donated and about 150 more pounds of canned goods. We, UNC, are over 28,000 pounds of donated food . An honorable mention goes to Residence Life who collected 138 cans and $504 during the Saturday Homecoming Formal.
Our key message for 2008 was “Show us your cash and cans!” We wanted to support the Weld Food Bank with not only non-perishable food items during the the fall food drive but also with cash. Rick Cramer, WFB food procurement specialist, said canned food is always appreciated, but in these economic times, cash goes further. For instance, $1 buys 6 pounds of food or $10 of food, retail. Cash donations allows the food bank to have a bigger buying capacity—and helps pay for the gas and drivers, who bring donated food to WFB from all over the country.
Also, we had a new sponsor this year that helped us get the word out about our drive: 99.9 The Point. We also encouraged the community to support our campus food drive. All our car dealership sponsors collected cans and cash at their stores on Oct. 9, allowing community members to easily drop off donations.
We did not line cans to Candelaria this year; instead, we had two campus drop-off points—one near Candelaria Hall and one north of Kepner where food was weighed and cash was collected. My PR students will be evaluating how we can improve the drive for 2009. See everyone next year!
Cans to Candelaria” Mission Statement:
Our mission is to help feed Weld County’s hungry.
We will accomplish this by the following:
- Heightening individual and community awareness about hunger.
- Creating community involvement (UNC’s students, faculty and staff as well as local businesses) through an organized and accessible food drive—“Cans to Candelaria.”
Our 2008 goals are the following:
- To collect more than 10,000 pounds of food (via non-perishable food and cash donations) for Weld Food Bank.
- To raise awareness about the drive and its benefits to Weld Food Bank.
- To increase both student and community involvement.
