Campus service project begins

Spreading a little Christmas cheer throughout Logan this year will be a little bit easier for Utah State University students.

ASUSU, along with various organizations throughout campus, is sponsoring USU’s first university-wide service project called “Santa’s Little Helpers” to collect toys, canned food and money for those in need in the Cache County community during this holiday season.

“Originally ASUSU and other organizations have provided support for the Valley Sub-4-Santa chapter; our goal as Santa’s Little Helpers, is to unite all the university’s past efforts and stimulate many more to collect even more than in years past,” said Troy Smith, who is involved in organizing the event and presented the idea to the ASUSU Academic Senate.

The project, which began Tuesday, will include various activities throughout November.

“This involves every single student on campus,” Service Vice President Belinda Lopez said. “This can be a huge project and we can collect a lot of things for a lot of needy people.”

Students will be asked through their individual college senators to donate any toys, clothing, supplies, canned food, money or other similar items to eventually be dispersed throughout the Cache Valley community. The university will be collecting supplies through Dec. 17.

“The most important thing is we will be helping needy families throughout the community,” Lopez said.

On Tuesday, collection jars were placed in Aggie shuttles for students to give monetary donations.

During the week of Nov. 14, there will be a competition among the seven different colleges to see which receives the most donations from students. The winning college will receive a large trophy to keep throughout the year until the next year’s university-wide project begins again, Smith said.

“Our ambition is to make this a Utah State yearly tradition where the university unites to collect all we can to help those struggling families in the valley,” Smith said.

Also, in a project similar to the annual trick-or-treating for food recently sponsored by Students Together Ending Poverty, volunteers from different organizations will leave plastic bags and a list of needed supplies on the doorsteps of local residents on Nov. 21.

Volunteers will return to the same doorsteps and pick up the the plastic bags hopefully filled with supplies on Nov. 29, Lopez said.

There will also be a bus on campus Nov. 30 and in the Wal-Mart parking lot for students and community members to fill with supplies.

“I would encourage all students to get involved in any service project this holiday season,” said ASUSU President Quinn Millett, who has been involved in organizing the project.

Aside from ASUSU, Cysco, the Latter-day Saint Student Association, fraternities and sororities, religious groups and the USU Extension sites are helping with the project.

Students interested in donating or volunteering for the project can contact their ASUSU senator or send an email to usu3586@yahoo.com

-mmackay@cc.usu.edu