Thursday, December 15, 2011

Annual Holiday Stars Project benefits Central Illinois Foodbank

The Holiday Stars Project, a campus-wide service initiative giving focus to the University of Illinois Springfield’s efforts to make a difference in the local community during the holiday season, is celebrating another successful year.

Volunteers helped collect 8,366 pounds of food, which will be donated to the Central Illinois Foodbank. On Halloween night, seventeen student groups went door-to-door collecting canned food from the Springfield community. The rest of the food was collected during a campus-wide drive during the month of November.

In 2008, a campus-wide committee created the Holiday Stars Project. It is designed to be a tradition on campus, which strengthens our community efforts during the holiday season.

The Central Illinois Foodbank distributes nearly 8 million pounds of food annually to over 160 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21 county region. The foodbank is a member of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and is a United Way certified agency. More information is available at www.centralilfoodbank.org.

For more information on the UIS Holiday Stars Project, contact Brittany Elder, volunteer services coordinator, by email at belde2@uis.edu.

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