ASU student volunteers put together a food and clothing drive this week, collecting canned food and warm clothing for needy families in time for Thanksgiving. (Photo by Rosie Gochnour)As the weather gets chillier and people start to break out the hot cocoa, the desire to share the warm fuzzies is stronger than any other time during the year.
The holiday season offers students a variety of ways to spread the holiday cheer, ranging from volunteering to buying a gift for a child in need.
Criminal justice junior Matthew Sanchez said he volunteers throughout the year and that he would be interested in volunteering or donating to charities around the holidays as well.
“I haven’t really done any volunteering around the holidays this year,” Sanchez said. “But there’s still time.”
Many residence halls and organizations around campus are making it easy to help the less fortunate this time of year. Vista del Sol is collecting canned goods to donate to St. Mary’s Food Bank before Christmas break begins. Many other residence halls are doing the same, and people wishing to donate can put nonperishable food into containers around campus.
For students interested in shopping, Salvation Army’s Christmas Angel trees can be found at Tempe Marketplace, Arizona Mills and other malls throughout the Valley. The trees are decorated with tags with names of children and their ages, and people pick children’s names from the tree and buy the child a gift.
The donation is tax-deductible, and it is a good option for college students who might not have time to spare from studying for finals, but want to make a difference during the holidays.
If you have time to spare, but no extra money to buy a gift, students can opt for a more hands-on volunteering experience at many places throughout the Valley.
Feed My Starving Children is located southwest of the Tempe campus, near Priest Drive and Elliot Road, and gives volunteers the opportunity to pack boxes of food that will be sent all over the world to help feed children in impoverished areas.
People wishing to volunteer can register for a two-hour long session online and can come alone or in groups.
Students can also volunteer at a variety of food banks throughout the Valley in a variety of jobs, including serving food, washing dishes, packing food and taking inventory.
Nicole Pena, a spokeswoman for Phoenix Rescue Mission, said people who want to contribute their time can go on the “Hope Coach,” which is a van that travels through areas with high homeless populations and distributes water, sandwiches, socks and hygiene products to people.
“Socks and bus passes are a valuable item to the homeless in the city, because homeless people need to walk an average of four miles between places that offer services,” Pena said. “Providing a bus ticket or socks is much more valuable to a homeless person than cash is.”
Churches and other religious organizations provide opportunities to get involved as well.
History freshman Trista Thacker said she and her family have participated in their church’s “adopt a family” program for the past few years.
“We once had a family of six people, and we bought them all presents and a tree as well,” Thacker said. “I really liked it. It was really good for me to be able to see another side of the world and be able to help someone else during the holidays.”
Reach the reporter at cvanek@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter
