The Texas A&M 140-year celebration kicked off Monday with the Fearless Giving Food Drive  which collected one ton — 2,000 pounds — of canned food.
The university Human Resource Department hosted the event and worked closely with the university president’s office to make it a part of the week-long celebration of the 140th anniversary of Texas A&M. Over the course of one week 43 departments collected canned food to donate to the Brazos County Food Bank and The 12th Can.
Janelle Ramirez, executive director of Human Resources, said the department was excited to host the event.
“We were really interested in being a part of the [140-year] celebration and really wanted to do an event focused on our core value of selfless service and really focused on getting our staff involved as well,” Ramirez said. “We not only wanted to benefit our internal folks — mainly our students — but we also wanted to contribute to our overall community and we accomplished this by donating to the Brazos Valley Food Bank and the 12th can.”
Each of the 43 departments who donated were put in a drawing to win one mini conference next semester. The department of Environmental Health and Safety won the drawing and will work with Human Resources to have a mini conference focused on leadership, inclusion, wellness and one last seminar will be on a topic of their choosing.
Pamela Praesel, communication coordinator of Human Resources said she was glad the department was able to work together in the fight against hunger.
“Human Resources is really proud to stand together with our faculty and staff to support our Aggie family through the 12th Can and our community through the Brazos Valley Food Bank to help stamp out hunger,” Praesel said.
Executive director of the 12th Can Olivia Brown was excited to represent her organization at the food drive and show their support.
“We were at the food drive showing our support and our gratitude for the donations they made to the 12th Can,” Brown said. “It was great to see how all the different departments across campus pitched in and showed selfless service in a way that really promotes what Aggies stand for.”
The 140-year celebration will continue for the rest of this week with events such as President Michael Young’s State of the University address Tuesday, the Fearless 140 Scavenger Hunt, a birthday celebration and more.