STUFF THE BUS - Darius White

For the Project LINK assignment I assisted at the Stuff the Bus; canned food and clothing drive. This event took place Wednesday, April 13, 2011 during the 2011 Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week. The goal of the event was to fill a bus with donated food and clothes from students, faculty/staff, and community members. It was extremely wonderful to see so many people give back to others not as fortunate without expecting anything in return.  Along with people giving items, many even offered their time to volunteer on the spot at the event. Not only were we accepting canned food and clothes but facts about hunger and homelessness was also given to people to educate and bring awareness to the issue. Anyone that actually donated something were given a wristband with the words ‘War on Poverty….WINNING’ and placed in a raffle to win a ticket to the University Board Spring Concert.

The items collected will assist any individual in poverty in need of food or clothing. As we know there are a lot of necessities in life, especially for a family that we would consider the “working poor”, and for them to be assisted with food and clothing is a great reliever of stress and financial burdens. Another duty other than collecting all the items and handing out awareness information there was a lot of sorting to do with the canned food and clothing items prior to taking them to their final location. I personally sorted through some of the clothing items trying to separate them from shirts and pants.

I really enjoyed volunteering at this event, and have the opportunity to interact with all the students, faculty/staff, and community members. Prior to the event, I worked with Zuri Thurman on ideas of marketing and innovative ways to get individuals aware of the issue, and for it to be a first time event, it was a success.  The event was co-sponsored by Housing and Dining Services, Student Community Service, and University Board - Cultural Arts. With these organizations coming together, I was able to also work with Rachael Fisher, who is the director of the Students Community Service program. Her vitality, care and enthusiasm for any volunteer efforts made creating this project worthwhile. I have volunteered with different programs under Rachael’s administration and after this successful event; I look forward to future volunteer opportunities.