The Illini Union Office of Volunteer Programs is sponsoring its annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive to provide families with a basket of nonperishable food items and a $25 gift card, which can furnish a Thanksgiving meal. The entire Illinois campus is invited to participate. The drive will run through Nov. 16.
Stone Creek Church in Urbana will collect the baskets and distribute them during their Thanksgiving Big Give event.
Hunger is a reality for an estimated one in six people in Illinois. For children, that number is much higher, as an estimated one in four children in Illinois struggles with low-food security. Additionally, 23.4 percent of residents in Champaign County, students excluded, live at or below the poverty line.
“Our goal this year is to collect 250 baskets to support the Big Give event with Stone Creek Church,” said John Race, the program advisor for the Illini Union Office of Volunteer Programs. “We receive participation from students, campus offices and academic units, and each year the participation has grown. We’re excited to contribute to Stone Creek Church’s Big Give.”
Those who donate should drop their baskets off Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Illini Union Office of Volunteer Programs. Baskets also may be purchased through the Illini Union Quad Shop in person or online. For more information about the program, visit OVP’s website.
The OVP office is located at 288 Illini Union on the south Quad Side.
