It’s never too early to start spreading holiday cheer. At least, that’s the attitude at Shaw Hall.
Members of the hall’s senate and black caucus along with Kahlil Wasson, the dorm’s community policing officer, are distributing food baskets and canned foods today to five campus families to make their Thanksgiving holiday brighter.
“Feeding hungry people, especially around the holidays, is always important,” said Cheryl Allie, vice president of the senate and co-organizer of the can drive. “I’ll take away from this experience the satisfaction of giving back to the community.”
Allie, a marketing junior, decided the event would be a good morale booster for Shaw after a tough semester. Students were getting acquainted with a new hall director just learning the ropes before discovering their hall will close at the end of the year for major renovations.
“I’m really proud of the Shaw Hall community for doing as much as they did especially considering college students are always saying they don’t have any money,” she said.
John Johnson, president of the Shaw Hall Black Caucus, agrees that residents needed something to feel good about in their hall.
And when Wasson approached him and Allie, a collaborative brainstorming effort lead to the charitable can drive.
“It’s something positive we could do and it gave Shaw a feeling of doing something positive for the community,” he said. “It’s been a great success which has been good for all involved, too.”
Nearly 1,000 cans of food were collected by hall residents during a three-week period. After five baskets have been formed with 20 to 30 cans of food, apples plus a turkey and box of stuffing donated by the MSU police, the remaining food will be donated to MSU Safe Place and the Lansing City Rescue Mission.
Wasson said he, the senate and black caucus chose the Lansing City Rescue Mission because many of the city’s homeless residents visit the mission during the holidays. They chose MSU Safe Place, a shelter for women who have faced domestic violence situations, which was initiated several years ago by MSU first lady Joanne McPherson, because it’s a campus-based organization.
“A lot of the homeless who have nowhere to go on the holidays, they go there and will be in need of the food,” Wasson said.
The organizations say the can drive will likely be continued next year and in the future - even if Shaw Hall is closing its doors temporarily.
“Shaw Hall is closing but I am sure one of my other communities will help out if we can show how successful this year has been, and we’ll do just as good if not better,” Wasson said.
