California Baptist University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hosted its Annual Canned Food Drive this week and collected 9,872 cans of food. This year's total ranks second in the history of the event.
"It's important for our student athletes to get in the habit of giving back to the community that supports them," Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker said. "This is an important part of our yearly student-athlete leadership commitment as SAAC members."
Thank you to all of the student-athletes who donated to our canned food drive. We collected 9,872 cans of food, which is second most in the history of the event.
All of the collected food items are donated to Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, around the Thanksgiving holiday. The Feeding America network consists of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, committed to fighting hunger in communities across America.
"I am so impressed with our student-athletes and their willingness to serve the needs of the hungry in our area," said Assistant Director of Compliance Abbie Gortsema, who organized the event this year. "Every single sport program participated, and we are happy that we got to partner with Feeding America again this year. It was a great opportunity for the student-athletes to come together to help pack up the food before they leave for the Thanksgiving holiday."
Cheerleading and dance both collected 1,000-plus canned food items this year. Cheerleading led the way with 3,341, while dance followed with 1,872. Women's soccer and baseball were not far behind the 1,000 mark, with 991 and 973, respectively.