Sodexo and the Elrod Center are sponsoring Helping Hands Across America on campus, asking students, faculty and staff to donate non-perishable foods for Arkadelphia families in need this Thanksgiving.
“For some of our neighbors in Arkadelphia, this is a hard time,” said Judy Duvall, assistant director of the Elrod Center, in a campus e-mail. “There will not be enough food for them to have a Thanksgiving meal. Many are out of jobs, struggling to pay bills and dealing with illness.”
In its sixth year at Ouachita, the food drive runs until Nov. 15. Donations can be dropped off in the Commons.
Sodexo, Ouachita’s food service provider, is donating 50 turkeys for the baskets and marketing the program.
Volunteers with the Elrod Center will assemble the baskets and distribute them to families on Nov. 21. Sodexo and the Elrod Center will partner with Lighthouse Ministries and local schools to determine which families receive the baskets.
“We depend on students, faculty and staff to bring the food and assemble and deliver the baskets,” Duvall said.
Duvall suggested several ways for students to get involved. She said students could eat out one meal less this week and use the money they saved to purchase several canned food items. She also said anyone can volunteer to help assemble and distribute the baskets. Finally, she said students can talk about the drive, spread awareness and encourage others to participate.
Though Helping Hands Across America provides just one meal to the families over the Thanksgiving holiday, Duvall revealed the importance of that one meal.
“It’s just one meal, one time a year but a really nice meal during the holidays can bring comfort and a bit of hope for the future,” she said. “Sometimes that’s enough.”
For more information or to get involved, contact Duvall at duvallj@obu.edu or Jennifer Fuller, Sodexo’s marketing coordinator, at fullerj@obu.edu.
Picture by Callie Stephens.
