Story and Photos by Veronica Prigmore
Various student organizations hosted donation drives in the Students Union’s auditorium on Monday, November 18. Tables were decorated with informative trifold boards, colorful tablecloths and large boxes for clothes donations.
Ladies for a Change hosted the Jeans and Jacket Drive to help families stay warm this winter. The decorative boxes were filled with coats, shoes and other gently used clothing. All of the donated clothes went to Nashville’s Rescue Mission Center.
Several college students reflected on their first home-cooked meal after months of eating ramen and campus food; several people realized that they take the accessibility of basic needs for granted.
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the Neighborhood Heroes organization held a canned food and clothing drive. The sorority sisters performed their signature strolls around the table to attract more students. Their donation boxes had plenty of bags of clothes. A member from Neighborhood Heroes, Aaron Johnson II said, “Neighborhood Heroes’ purpose is to help bring the campus and community together.”
Zeta Phi Beta called their drive #PeriodTalk. Topics surrounding menstrual cycles and feminine products are often taboo conversation in daily life. Several females across the world do not have the same accessibility to feminine products as others. The sorority sisters aimed to bring awareness to young women about the crisis. Feminine product donations benefited the Boys and Girls Club Foundation.
The Center for Health and Human Services showed shocking statistics about sugary drinks. Their tri-board showed the high sugar content of popular drinks by displaying raw sugar amounts in small sandwich bags. A Starbucks grande vanilla frappuccino had 69 grams of sugar, but the sugar amount shown in the bag was alarming. The Center for Health and Human Services passed out free water bottles to encourage students to drink more water. Inside the water bottle was a paper that stated, “If you drink two 12 ounce sodas every day for one month you will drink 8000 calories and five pounds of sugar.”
MTSU vs WKU Blood Drive also took place in the gym at the Rec Center. The three-day blood drive was sponsored by the American Red Cross Foundation. The 2019 Blood Battle was a friendly competition between rival football teams. For the last two years, MTSU has protected its title as the Blood Battle Champions. The competition helped raised blood donations to Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky communities. MTSU students and people from the community came out to donate their blood. The thirty-minute donation process was a smooth and quick experience. Afterwards, the donors snacked on Papa John’s Pizza and other delicious treats.
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