UHV drive raises items, money for Food Bank of the Golden Crescent
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| University of Houston-Victoria Chief of Staff Margaret Rice, seated on right, poses with members of the UHV Staff Council Feb. 4 before they take items donated through a food drive to the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent. Pictured members of the Staff Council are, left to right, Emily Krenek, secretary; Lisa Barr, chair; Lawrence Nelson, non-exempt staff member at large; Anna Celum, University System Staff Executive Council member at large; and Miles Harrison, vice chair. |
The Food Bank of the Golden Crescent has 1,095 pounds more food items, diapers and other essentials to distribute to needy area residents after the University of Houston-Victoria Staff Council food drive.
“The food drive at UHV couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Dennis Brown, food bank executive director. “The agencies we serve are seeing about a 15 percent increase in demand for food. The recession is having an impact on people.”
The drive started on Jan. 19 and ended with Staff Council members bringing the last 794 pounds of items to the food bank on Feb. 4. The drive also raised cash donations of $195.
The first 301 pounds of canned food, diapers and other needed supplies was donated Jan. 29 when the public was encouraged to participate by bringing items to a food bank truck parked in front of the UHV Small Business Development Center for the day.
The Staff Council also announced on Thursday that the UHV SBDC staff had won both the food and the diaper drive contests set up between all UHV departments. The council designed a point system based on donations, and then the total number of points was divided by the number of employees in each department.
Council members plan on placing a brick in recognition of the SBDC in front of the entrance to the UHV University Center and will throw a party for the department, said Lisa Barr, chair of the Staff Council.
“These are difficult times for just about everyone, so it was especially exciting to see such an outpouring of generosity from UHV employees and the community,” said Miles Harrison, Staff Council vice chair. “Planning is already underway for our next big effort to assist those living in this region.”
The Staff Council represents UHV’s benefits-eligible employees in university matters.
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.
