Twenty-one poor families will have more to eat this Thanksgiving thanks to gift baskets collected and delivered by students at the University School of Law.
Twenty student groups at the law school combined to adopt 21 area families in need this Thanksgiving, to collect more than 4,000 non-perishable food items and to raise roughly $1,000 for FOOD for Lane County. Groups each filled at least one laundry basket with food items for a Thanksgiving dinner. They also collected other basic necessities including toothpaste, gloves, hats, toothbrushes and other toiletries.
After the Nov. 7-18 drive, there was a banquet reception to gather the baskets and deliver them to the different families.
Emilia Gardner, a second-year law student who helped organize the drive, said everything the students accomplished really was a group effort.
“It has been such a good experience because everyone jumped on the bandwagon and everyone wanted to help,” she said.
Maxine Proskurowski, the program manager of the Eugene School District 4J Health Services, said she finds families in need of sponsorship each year and then seeks different organizations to adopt them. This year, she was confronted by students from the law school who not only wanted to help out but also wanted to expand the program.
“We decided we wanted to make it a bigger deal,” Gardner said.
In previous years, Proskurowski said, they were only able to sponsor three or four families. Twenty-one families received food this year.
“It was very nice that we got the students involved and they showed great enthusiasm and energy,” Proskurowski said.
The money and canned foods collected were all donated to FFLC.
“Those pounds that came in are wonderful and they are really going to help us,” said Deb Buchanan, the food solicitor for FFLC. “It is very exciting,” she added.
For every dollar donated to FFLC, six pounds of food can be shipped.
“Some of those dollars go toward food purchase, and some dollars go to moving the food,” Buchanan said. This year, FFLC is especially in need of donations, she said.
“Supplies are especially low because of the disasters that happened in the South,” Buchanan said.
Many people donated money, including several law professors who donated $200 or more, Gardner said. Those professors challenged their students to bring in canned food by offering to match their students’ canned donations with cash.
Jamila Taylor, a second-year law student who was involved in the drive, was pleased with how everyone came together to support the project.
“I got the sense that everyone wanted to participate and meet the goals they set,” she said.
The law students plan on making the drive an annual tradition and hope to adopt more families next year.
“(Next year we want to) have a dinner or some sort of evening that will have the families come together with law students to share and talk, kind of like a pre-Thanksgiving,” Taylor said.
Buchanan emphasized FFLC’s appreciation for the law school and the University’s donations.
“The University of Oregon is such a huge partner for FOOD for Lane County,” she said. “We couldn’t do half of what we do each year if it weren’t for UO, and we are so grateful to the law school. They are so awesome.”
Ryan Knutson is a freelance reporter
