The Aggies CAN food drive experienced a setback during the weekend, mainly due to a campus-wide bomb threat that shut down the University for more than four hours. Even though donations were less than anticipated, individuals involved made the best of the situation and collected as much as possible.
The Texas A&M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held the Aggies CAN food drive on Friday and Saturday and collected canned food and donations at the weekends sporting events. The SAAC brought in an estimated $18,000 by Saturday night.
An estimate of the number of cans wont be determined until Wednesday.
For the obstacles we faced it was a great turn out, said Janell Lysack, president of SAAC and sophomore sport management major. We were far from our goal, but its all still going to a great cause.
The food drive was set to begin at Reed Arena before the volleyball game against Tennessee. Students were hesitant to return to campus after being evacuated due to a campus-wide bomb threat. Although the night activities were not cancelled, attendance suffered
It was still a pretty good showing last night, said MacLean ODonnell, co-vice president of SAAC and senior business major. We had a few LSU and Tennessee fans donating as well.
All proceeds and donations will benefit the Brazos Valley Food Bank. This yearly food drive has brought in 25,000 pounds of food, varying from corn and green beans to ramen noodles. Donators could also donate $5 directly to the Brazos food bank via text message or online at the food bank website.
Its amazing that student athletes decided on such an impactful service project, said Theresa Mangapora, executive director for the Brazos Valley Food Bank. Its great spirit of service and we couldnt ask for anything more.
At the LSU game on Saturday, donors were given green, I CAN neon stickers and Whataburger coupons after donating. Stations were set up around the stadium to drop off cans and volunteers were in the crowds collecting donations. Donors from Baton Rouge, Round Rock, Dallas and surrounding cities gave monetary and canned donations. The half time report confirmed $16,000 was accumulated after their morning and night collections.
We had so many donations today, said Kelly Czumble, junior marketing major and Aggies CAN secretary. It was great to see both sides donating.
The Brazos Valley Food Bank reaches six counties including: Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison, Robertson and Washington. In 2011, over 50,000 individuals asked for help from a food bank or soup kitchen at least once.