UIS kicks off Holiday Stars Project with Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods

The Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at the University of Illinois Springfield will sponsor a Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods competition to collect the most canned goods on Halloween, Sunday, October 31.

The event is part of the UIS Holiday Stars Project, a campus-wide service initiative giving focus to UIS’ efforts to make a difference in the local community during the upcoming holiday season. The overall goal is to collect 6,000 of pounds of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank by December 3, 2010.

“Over the past two years, thanks to help from the local community, UIS students, faculty and staff have been able to collect over five tons of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank. We greatly appreciate the community’s support with this project,” said Kelly Thompson, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center.

Twenty teams of UIS students who registered for the Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods drive have been assigned to neighborhoods where they will collect non-perishable food items. The teams have already canvassed the neighborhoods in advance, distributing door hangers that explain the project.

On Halloween, the teams will revisit their neighborhoods between 4:30 and 8 p.m. to pick up donations. Collected items will be returned & weighed that evening at the University of Illinois Springfield, and prizes will be awarded to teams that bring in the most pounds of food.

The Holiday Stars Project continues through November, when specially marked collection bins will be placed around the UIS campus. Everything collected during the project will be presented to the Foodbank on Friday, December 3, 2010.

The Central Illinois Foodbank serves 160 agencies throughout 21 central Illinois counties and also hosts the Kids Café, part of a nation-wide program through America’s Second Harvest that feeds children a hot, nutritious meal in a safe environment. More information is available at www.centralilfoodbank.org.

For more information about the UIS Holiday Stars Project, contact Kelly Thompson, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, at 217/206-8448, or go to www.uis.edu/holidaystars.