Home / 2021 / November / $1 = 4 healthy meals. You can feed hope, locally!

$1 = 4 healthy meals. You can feed hope, locally!

To: UCSC Community

From: Staff Advisory Board

November 22, 2021

In early November, the Staff Advisory Board kicked off the Holiday Food & Fund Drive by inviting last year’s participants to get a jump on things. Now, we’re opening it up to the whole campus so you can jump in the mix!

2020's Results

As can be seen on the "What's New?" page of the UCSC Holiday Food & Fund Drive website, here are the numbers from your effort last year:

  • 210 donations

  • $39,948 dollars raised

  • 159,790 meals purchased

That amount of meals means the UCSC community fed 36 families of four, for the whole year! I would like to think at least one of those families was a part of our UCSC workforce or one of their kids was a UCSC student. If you've ever received a gift like those 36 families did, you know what kind of impact that can have on the long-term trajectory of a family's path. Thank you for giving to meet their specific needs!

2021-2022's Opportunity

During the 2021-2022 Holiday Food & Fund Drive, there are three main things that will be different:

  1. Our very own Chancellor, Cindy Larive, will be the Co-Chair for the countywide Holiday Food & Fund Drive. So, the SAB is excited to partner with her in a broader way this year. I know she hopes UCSC will exceed the contribution from last year!

  2. On our UCSC-wide fundraising page, we are encouraging local divisions or departments to create a "Participant" so they can track their team's donations within the larger UCSC team. This will allow each division/department to measure and celebrate their localized effort while still contributing to the overall UCSC effort!

    1. 10 groups have already made their mark: from the Educational Partnership Center, to Staff Human Resources, to Baskin Engineering, just to name a few.

    2. To set up your Participant, go to our UCSC fundraising page and click the orange "PARTICIPATE" button. If you would like help setting up your Participant profile, please email Nathan McCall: nmccall@ucsc.edu.

  3. This time around, we're going to keep our campus' food drive open until January 15th, 2022. That way, anyone can donate as a fresh start to the 2022 tax year!

Connection

UCSC is starting up Second Harvest Food Bank warehouse tours and food packing events, down in their Watsonville facility. The one in November is already fully booked. There will be one in mid-December and then January as well. If you want to join a warehouse tour, please fill out this form. As dates become confirmed, we'll email an invite so you can choose to participate or pass.

Raffle

Everybody loves a raffle... so, here we go again! This year, think creatively about what prizes you can donate and then let us know via this form:

  • Unique pieces of art you create or have on hand

  • Overstock items that still have value, but won't sell

  • Gift certificates to local businesses you like to support

  • Don't forget the fun! Zany prizes bring smiles to faces!

Even if your gift is small, we can combine it with other smaller gifts. Thanks in advance!

We’re looking forward to another fruitful year of gathering resources for those in need. Your partnership makes it possible!


Enjoy the week,

Your Staff Advisory Board