“Donations for Citations” food and personal care items drive was held from April 3 to 14 by Transportation Services to give students the opportunity to lower citation fees.

 The food drive allowed students receive up to 30 dollars toward their university parking citation for donations of either 10 food items or five personal items, according to the transportation services press release. The 1,100 pounds of donations were delivered to the Brazos Valley Food Bank April 21 by department representatives.

 In some cases, students brought more donations than necessary to receive the 30 dollars toward their parking citation.

 “The community really came together to make this event a success,” said Associate Vice President of Transportation Services, Peter Lange, in the press release from the department. “The best part of the campaign was that people were bringing in more than was required to receive the fine reduction. We even had donations from people who did not have a citation at all. That is really a great show of the community coming together for a good cause. We are looking forward to the next campaign.”

 Rhonda Behrens, the distribution manager for Brazos Valley Food Bank, said she is thankful for the donations.
“We highly value Texas A&M Transportation Services for hosting a unique and beneficial food drive for [Brazos Valley Food Bank],” Behrens said in the press release from the transportation department. “We are able to provide meals to our hungry neighbors in need with this generous donation. Thank you so much.”

 Therese Kucera, an event coordinator who oversaw the collection of donations, said she was pleased with the way students handled the donation opportunity.

 “It was really great seeing the students bring in their donations to have their citation reduced,” Kucera said in the press release from the transportation department. “And for this being our first campaign, the amount we collected far exceeded our expectations.”