Issue date: 11/26/08 Section: The News

Media Credit: courtesy photo Canned goods await donation to the Mesquite Food Bank for holiday meals. [Click to enlarge]

At the beginning of the semester, Upward Bound administrative assistant Sandy Hampton sent out e-mails to the division deans of Eastfield Community College regarding the support of the local food banks in the North Texas area, primarily the Mesquite food bank off Military Parkway.

The e-mails Hampton sent out to the deans attracted large number of participants for the food drive.

"I have a passion for community service and giving back," Hampton said.

Some division deans informed their instructors. A few instructors told their students about the food drive and asked if they would bring nonperishable food to contribute to the food banks that were getting low on food.

The instructors participating gave their students extra credit for contributing. Humanities and sociology instructor Jane Penny gave her students, ten extra credit points to add to their lowest test score if they brought ten cans. About thirty students participated in the food drive in her class, totaling around 300 food items, Penny said.

"I think we have to learn to give back to the community," Penny said.
Accounting instructor Regina Brown said that she gave her students an additional ten points to their grade if they participated in the food drive. Brown said about one-hundred students participated. She said that most participants brought more than five food items.

"It helped the students think about somebody other than themselves. You never know where you are going to end up, so you always try to do something for somebody else," Brown said.

Applied science major Tania Santistevan in Brown's Accounting 2301 class participated in the food drive. "It was an excellent opportunity to help the community," Santistevan said.

A few of the students went above what was required for the ten extra credit points. "Spread the wealth," Santistevan said.
The food was delivered Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. "The whole back of my pickup truck was full of food," Hampton said.

Operations manager Trisha Card of the food bank, located in Mesquite said that due to the economy being as it is right now, more people are in need of help. The food banks are really in need of donations and the community's support.

"In the month of October we saw a 32 percent increase in clients from the previous year, so the amount of clients we're seeing is drastically going up," Card said.

With the increase of clients, comes the need for more donations, Card said.
Card said that Mesquite Social Services sent out mass e-mails to people throughout the community. Mesquite ISD made a great contribution to the food bank, several local businesses helped out, and Eastfield College helped out as well.

"We just want to make sure that everyone that comes through our door is fed. That is our main goal, is to make sure that we can give them breakfast lunch and dinner for three to five days," Card said. "With the help of the community we have been able to do that even with our shelves being bare.As soon as it comes in it goes right back out."

Hampton is already planning the next food drive for the spring semester. She said her goal is to get more instructors to participate in the food drive next semester.

Dean of Social Science and Human Services Richard Sinclair, one of the deans who passed Hampton's e-mail on, was glad the initiative took place.

"Even in tough times, I'm better off than somebody else, I think it's incumbent to share with those less fortunate than me," Sinclair said.

etc4640@dcccd.edu

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools