Outreach and International Affairs
sharing the best of Virginia Tech by working side by side with communities throughout the world

iCAN Supports Local Hunger Relief Organizations

The Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships’ 2011 Fall Day of Service event, iCAN, raised more than 5,200 pounds of food, equaling more than $1,000 in monetary value to benefit several local hunger relief agencies.

iCAN is a part of the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships’ Season of Service initiative to get students involved in community service throughout the year by offering large-scale service events.

This year, seven teams participated by collecting food items for their assigned agencies, and on Sept. 24 teams designed and built a sculpture that was judged in the competition.

iCAN not only gave students a fun and unique opportunity to learn more about hunger relief efforts in the New River Valley, but also a chance to closely partner and interact with agencies outside of the Virginia Tech community.

“My favorite part was definitely the atmosphere,” said one of the student team members. “It was so cool to be surrounded by so many people who wanted to help, and even though it was a competition it never really felt like it.”

Another student team member said her favorite part was “seeing our food bank partner so excited about our donation.”

The Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships also plans to hold additional food drives during November, which is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness month. The collected food will go to local hunger relief agencies that did not benefit from the event.

The next large-scale service event within the Season of Service initiative is the annual MLK Daycare Facelift, taking place on January 21. Registration opens Oct. 10.