UHV Staff Council sponsors food drive, invites community to join in
The University of Houston-Victoria Staff Council is organizing a food drive through Feb. 2 to benefit the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent.
On Jan. 29, community members can join in the drive by bringing canned food, diapers and other needed supplies to a food bank truck parked in front of the UHV Small Business Development Center, 3402 N. Ben Wilson St. Donors also can give cash that will go to the purchase of supplies.
“We wanted to do a drive when the need is the greatest,” Staff Council President Lisa Barr said.
That greatest need often comes after the holidays and is especially dire this year.
“Last year at this time, we had about 500,000 pounds of inventory on hand, and this year we are at about 200,000,” said Dennis Brown, food bank executive director. “We distributed 24 percent more food last year than we did in 2008.”
Agencies that receive food from the bank report great increases in demand because of the recession, he noted.
There is a need not only for canned and packaged food, but also diapers and other supplies for infants.
The council decided to make the drive a bit more fun by creating an internal contest around the donations. The council designed a point system based on donations. At the end of the contest, the total number of points will be divided by the number of employees in each UHV department. The winners will receive a brick to be placed at the entrance to the University Center and a free party organized by the council.
Staff Council is an elected group that represents the staff in university matters.
For more information about the food drive, contact Lisa Barr at 361-575-8944.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
