The Public Relations Committee for IPSGA Student Senate is kicking off their first food drive this year with the “Winter Giving Tree.”
The “Winter Giving Tree” will be held Nov. 30 through Dec. 23 at IPFW. All students are encouraged to donate canned items and non-perishable goods.
A goal of the food drive is to obtain around 200-300 pounds of food to donate to Community Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Indiana.
“Since it’s the first year we are doing it, I really didn’t want to set the bar too high to see how things went, but hopefully in years to come we’ll continue to grow,” said Jessica Shoaff, Public Relations Committee Chair for IPSGA Student Senate.
When planning the food drive, the committee did not have a place in mind of where they wanted the donated items to go. IPFW has been affiliated with Community Harvest Food Bank in the past and getting in touch with the food bank was easy for Shoaff and the committee.
Community Harvest Food Bank recently was affiliated with “U Can Crush Hunger” food drive that had five colleges in northeast Indiana, IPFW, Saint Francis, Indiana Tech, Ivy Tech Community College Northeast and Huntington University in competition with one another to raise 100,000 pounds of food. IPSGA’s food drive will be held only on the campus of IPFW.
Another one of the goals of the food drive is to show off a side of the IPSGA that they are not known for.
“I know we are pretty business-like and rather than funding the clubs and organizations, I thought we’d show a different side of student senate,” said Shoaff.
In her first year as chair, Shoaff gave the committee a list of ideas to consider but the “Winter Giving Tree” was not on the list. After brainstorming during committee meetings they decided on a food drive.
The unique name of the “Winter Giving Tree” gave the committee an idea on how to advertise the food drive.
“I just got the funding from senate for the two-foot tall (Christmas) trees that will be placed around campus,” Shoaff said.
Along with the trees will be posters put up around campus that describe the food drive and where to donate.
The main tree of the food drive will be located outside the IPSGA office, Walb 225, to put the donated items.
Students who donate to the giving tree can swipe their student ID in the IPSGA office to be entered to win a free IPFW fleece. The number of fleece jackets that will be given away has not yet been determined according to Shoaff and the committee.
If the drive is successful, ISPGA plans to make this an annual food drive.