Canned food drive on campus for hurricane relief

Canned+food+drive+on+campus+for+hurricane+relief

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico three weeks ago, the Oakland University Spanish Club and Hispanic American Leadership Organization organized a canned food drive.

The clubs are partnering with the Center for Multicultural Initiatives, International Allies and other multicultural clubs to provide aid to the country after the recent natural disaster.

“We want to aid them with the ongoing issue of families and people of Puerto Rico struggling with finding food and searching for their next meal,” said President of Spanish Club, Bryan Del Ray.

The canned food drive started Oct. 13 for OU students and residents from around the county to contribute goods at the CMI office, Kresge Library and the Oakland Center. The drive will continue throughout the month of October.

“If we all come together as a university and many students participate, we can contribute to changing the lives of these islanders and ensuring their survival,” Del Ray said.

Although the Spanish Club and HALO are implementing the food drive, an outsider came up with the initial idea of it.

“After watching the news and hearing about the devastation the recent hurricanes caused in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, I remember having this sick feeling in my stomach,” OU student Christine Enright said.

“I felt worse over the next few weeks as I saw many Puerto Ricans were still awaiting aid, and even though I’m so far away geographically, I knew I had to do something. A lot of my friends felt this way, so I figured my school would be a good place to start. I knew that while most college students wouldn’t have the extra money to donate, many may have a can of soup or beans at home that they could spare.”

Because the drive requires a lot of work and marketing, Enright, Spanish Club and HALO are doing their best to let fellow students know about this opportunity to help Puerto Rico.

“This will be my first time conducting a food drive, which is why I’m actively looking for local food banks to work with for support,” Enright said. “There are a lot of factors to consider and effort required in carrying out a food drive, but I’m confident that we will see success. Bryan and Agustin (VP of Spanish Club) had some great ideas for spreading the word on Facebook and OU’s Snapchat, and we will also be depending a lot on word-of-mouth, whether it be through our friends, people in our classes, clubs or professors.”

After conducting this drive, Enright plans on joining Spanish Club.

If interested in providing aid for Puerto Rico, visit a participating location on campus and leave canned goods in the boxes for the respective drive.