Spring Break
The bus gets stuffed
Erin McCarthy
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: News
The Western Illinois University and Macomb community, with the help of Sodexo, came together Wednesday in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the Largest Food Drive by a Non-Charitable Organization in a 24-hour period from multiple locations.
This year's Cans Across America Stuff the Bus event involved months of planning, hundreds of volunteers and hours of counting cans. Sodexo Marketing Director Eva Galbraith said she is pleased with the outcome of the event, despite not breaking any records.
"The unofficial count is 15,176 pounds," Galbraith said. "We didn't reach our goal of 20,000 pounds, but for a community the size of Macomb donating almost 1 pound per person, wow."
To put this in perspective, Boston's Curry College donated 16,000 pounds for last year's event.
For Macomb to collect near the amount that a city the size of Boston collected is quite an accomplishment.
Nicole Benson, senior psychology major, and Kate Stralka, senior social work major, were at the Go
West Transit bus in Sherman Circle Wednesday afternoon to help collect food.
"I chose to volunteer because it's for a good cause and I enjoy helping out the community," Benson said, fully equipped with a warm jacket and coffee. "It was really simple to join in. I read about it on the WIU Web site, contacted (Galbraith), and here I am."
Other students joined the efforts through their student organizations.
"I'm the president of the Social Work Student Association, so we teamed up with Blue Key Honor Society and Alpha Phi Sigma to recruit volunteers," Stralka said. "It took a lot of organizing, but as you can see, the bus is stuffed with food, so it was worth it."
Sodexo Resident District Manager Allen Nemec was in Corbin Hall late into the night organizing and hauling food.
"Today was very much a success," Nemec said. "With the help of over 200 students and 61 organizations, this was a great team effort. I think the weather helped a lot by not being rainy and a little bit warmer than the past few days."
This year's Cans Across America Stuff the Bus event involved months of planning, hundreds of volunteers and hours of counting cans. Sodexo Marketing Director Eva Galbraith said she is pleased with the outcome of the event, despite not breaking any records.
"The unofficial count is 15,176 pounds," Galbraith said. "We didn't reach our goal of 20,000 pounds, but for a community the size of Macomb donating almost 1 pound per person, wow."
To put this in perspective, Boston's Curry College donated 16,000 pounds for last year's event.
For Macomb to collect near the amount that a city the size of Boston collected is quite an accomplishment.
Nicole Benson, senior psychology major, and Kate Stralka, senior social work major, were at the Go
West Transit bus in Sherman Circle Wednesday afternoon to help collect food.
"I chose to volunteer because it's for a good cause and I enjoy helping out the community," Benson said, fully equipped with a warm jacket and coffee. "It was really simple to join in. I read about it on the WIU Web site, contacted (Galbraith), and here I am."
Other students joined the efforts through their student organizations.
"I'm the president of the Social Work Student Association, so we teamed up with Blue Key Honor Society and Alpha Phi Sigma to recruit volunteers," Stralka said. "It took a lot of organizing, but as you can see, the bus is stuffed with food, so it was worth it."
Sodexo Resident District Manager Allen Nemec was in Corbin Hall late into the night organizing and hauling food.
"Today was very much a success," Nemec said. "With the help of over 200 students and 61 organizations, this was a great team effort. I think the weather helped a lot by not being rainy and a little bit warmer than the past few days."
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