The natural instinct of athletes, especially at Ripon College, is to be competitive. This has proven to be true even in activities off the court or field. Ripon College is in the process of collecting cans for the college annual canned food drive. Although this collection has taken place for many years, this marks the third year the drive is being presented as an athletic conference wide competition.
During the first two years of competition, the Red Hawks have taken first and second place, respectively. This is despite Ripon having the fewest number of students in the Midwest Conference. The drive is being led by the Student Athletic Leadership Team (SALT) with the help from other students organizations such as the Students for Social Justice (SSJ), Greek Council, and Sodexo. The Student Athlete Leadership Team is tallying the totals for competition purposes.
When asked about the drive vice president of SALT, Haylea Hoskins said, “I want to encourage everyone to try and donate at least one can or a dollar. We take for granted how easily accessible our meals are, and it would be such a great help to give back to the community for the ones who are not as fortunate. This really is such a great cause, and something Ripon College SALT, as well as the Midwest Conference SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) deeply cares about.”
SSJ has put up a “giving tree” in the commons where students can take leaves off of the tree. The leaves have names of items written on them that have been identified as most needed by the local food pantry.
“I want students to know that any donation, even a small one, goes a long way! If we all do a little, the ripple effect will be helpful.” President of SSJ, Elizabeth Erdmann said.
As the holiday season approaches, we should all realize how fortunate we are to be in the situation in which we find ourselves, and attempt to do something to help others.
The drive will be through November 19. Students can make donations by placing items in the marked bins in each residence hall, the Student Activities Office, SAO, or at different athletic competitions. Each dollar donated will count toward two cans in the total.
