PNC Students Provide Thanksgiving Food Baskets in 2015

PNC Students Provide Thanksgiving Food Baskets in 2015

Students in the Purdue University North Central Dean’s Leadership Group have again stepped forward to collect donations for Thanksgiving food baskets that will help to ensure that their fellow students and their families enjoy a traditional family meal at Thanksgiving.

For the past few years, members of the Dean’s Leadership Group (DLG) have spent the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving raising money and collecting donations for the food basket. They collected donations of non-perishable food and took in cash contributions by selling paper turkeys for $1 to raise money to purchase frozen turkeys and other necessary items. Each basket will provide a Thanksgiving meal for a family of five.

One of the missions of the DLG is to help out on campus and in the community throughout the year. This is one of many projects the students will undertake.

The project was led by Jason Wray, DLG president and Danielle Szymkowski, secretary.

“I chose to work on this project for a few reasons. Number one, I have been on the receiving end of programs like this, in my life, and I know the impact of having someone bring my family Thanksgiving dinner. Secondly, I have learned to love serving others in areas where there is a need,” said Wray

DLG member Brook King, said that she wanted to help out because “I enjoy Thanksgiving and I want other people to have a good Thanksgiving too.”

Adriene Church, of Valparaiso, said that helped with last year’s Thanksgiving collection and wanted to do it again.

“It’s a very nice way to help,” she said. “It means a lot to us to be able to reach out to help.”

The students also found that others on campus were will to donate. Some brought in food items, others were generous in their monetary support.

“Some people would just hand us $20 when we were asking for $1 donations,” explained Virginia Ramos, of Michigan City.

Everyone donating $1 received a paper turkey and were asked to write in their name so the turkeys could be posted at PNC.

Ramos noted that many of the people who donated, did not want credit for their donations.

“They did it from the heart,” she said. “So many people were very generous.”

Shawna DeGraff, of LaPorte, said that she found the students, faculty and staff at PNC are willing to help out.

“It’s a small campus, we all know one another, it’s easy to get involved with projects,” she said.

Throughout the year, the DLG members are students are required to create their own fundraising events. The students develop their leadership skills through the many projects that they take on. They learn how to plan, budget, work in groups and work on their own and how to succeed in spite of the obstacles that may come up along the way.

Ramos and Church led a cancer awareness and fundraising event last year that they termed “very successful.”

Wray, is a member of the Student Government Association and is the campus Veteran Services coordinator on campus. He coordinated the campus Veterans Day commemorative ceremony and had an instrumental role in the opening of the Leonard J. Brown Veterans Center on campus.

Church also volunteered to be part of last year’s alternative spring break activities that saw students volunteer to help out with various projects in the community.

Ramos is also a member of the PNC TRIO Club and The Student Association for Nursing Development (STAND).

King helped a local organization fill backpacks for deserving local youngsters.

King, DeGraff, Church and Ramos all help out with the Purdue North Central Sinai Forum activities.

“It is not difficult to help out where we’re needed,” said DeGraff, who is a member of the PNC Student Government Association, TRIO Club, the Psychology Club and Honors Program.

Providing a Thanksgiving meal had special meaning for these students.

“I love getting together with my family for Thanksgiving,” said Ramos. “We want others to have the same opportunity. That’s important.”