Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Wraps Up Annual Canned Food Drive
12/9/2015 11:54:00 AM | 'Cats Give Back, Academic Services & Student Development
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee brought in nearly 4,700 food items through its recent annual Canned Food Drive.
Through contributions from Northwestern's 19 varsity athletic programs and staff as well as fans who attended the men's basketball and women's basketball games on Nov. 20 and 22, respectively, a record number of items were donated to benefit Family Focus of Evanston.
"The canned food drive is a great event because it allows our teams to come together as families in order to help out other families in our community," said senior wrestler Garrison White. "For so many of our student-athletes that cannot be with their families from home during the holiday season, events like this do so much to strengthen the bonds not only from teammate to teammate, but from the student-athlete to the rest of the community at large. Through these bonds, we hope to build an interactive community that thrives together."
Family Focus provide parents and their children with critical resources and learning opportunities to encourage healthy development in their communities. The organization provide parents with training and educational tools to support healthy early childhood development. It also supports children and youth ages 6-18 through enhanced educational opportunities programs to explore science, technology, engineering and math, as well as sports and cultural activities that encourage healthy development, self-confidence and the ability to create positive relationships.
"We're very appreciative of the student-athletes of Northwestern University," said Colette Allen, executive director of Family Focus of Evanston. "Without their effort, we would not be able to serve the hundreds who need our support to feed their family members. This is a wonderful holiday gift."
"The canned food drive is an opportunity for all the Northwestern student-athletes to come together during the holidays to give back to our community," said junior Elena Miller of the cross country team. "It's a way for all of us to individually contribute to a cause while engaging in friendly competition amongst the teams. We're excited to try and collect more cans than last year."
A number of Northwestern student-athletes came together on Dec. 4 to deliver the donated items to Family Focus in advance of the holiday season, including senior Deonte Gibson of the football team.
"It was great helping out at the Canned Food Drive because we were about to help so many less-fortunate people," Gibson said. "This is just another great way to utilize our platform as student-athletes to give back to our community."
Through contributions from Northwestern's 19 varsity athletic programs and staff as well as fans who attended the men's basketball and women's basketball games on Nov. 20 and 22, respectively, a record number of items were donated to benefit Family Focus of Evanston.
"The canned food drive is a great event because it allows our teams to come together as families in order to help out other families in our community," said senior wrestler Garrison White. "For so many of our student-athletes that cannot be with their families from home during the holiday season, events like this do so much to strengthen the bonds not only from teammate to teammate, but from the student-athlete to the rest of the community at large. Through these bonds, we hope to build an interactive community that thrives together."
Family Focus provide parents and their children with critical resources and learning opportunities to encourage healthy development in their communities. The organization provide parents with training and educational tools to support healthy early childhood development. It also supports children and youth ages 6-18 through enhanced educational opportunities programs to explore science, technology, engineering and math, as well as sports and cultural activities that encourage healthy development, self-confidence and the ability to create positive relationships.
"We're very appreciative of the student-athletes of Northwestern University," said Colette Allen, executive director of Family Focus of Evanston. "Without their effort, we would not be able to serve the hundreds who need our support to feed their family members. This is a wonderful holiday gift."
"The canned food drive is an opportunity for all the Northwestern student-athletes to come together during the holidays to give back to our community," said junior Elena Miller of the cross country team. "It's a way for all of us to individually contribute to a cause while engaging in friendly competition amongst the teams. We're excited to try and collect more cans than last year."
A number of Northwestern student-athletes came together on Dec. 4 to deliver the donated items to Family Focus in advance of the holiday season, including senior Deonte Gibson of the football team.
"It was great helping out at the Canned Food Drive because we were about to help so many less-fortunate people," Gibson said. "This is just another great way to utilize our platform as student-athletes to give back to our community."
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