The month of March was a month of milestones, activities, service, and healthy living awareness at the Ross Medical Education Center campus in Huntsville. For the entire month, the students participated in the annual food drive. The Huntsville campus administrators got the students motivated by asking them to participate in a box decorating contest as well as a competition for donating food items. Each of the classes designed a box and filled it with nonperishable food items. The grand prize of the best box went to the Dental Assistant students and the Veterinary Assistant students brought home the grand prize for food donations. By the end of the drive, the campus as a whole was able to donate an incredible 471 pounds of food to the Food Bank of North Alabama.
The Food Bank of North Alabama was established in 1984 by a small group of local citizens that wanted to make a difference in their community. Today, they feed over 80,000 residents of North Alabama, partner with over 200 other organizations, and are a part of Feeding America, a network of food banks. According to their website, their mission consists of two parts: “We feed the hungry today and create solutions to end hunger tomorrow.”
When the representatives from the campus arrived at the Food Bank of North Alabama to drop off the donations, the warehouse worker was shocked. They couldn’t believe that the campus had been able to collect so much, and they said that it was very rare to receive a donation of that magnitude outside of the holiday season. Veronica Dobbins, Office Assistant at the campus, shared, “It was an exciting bonding experience for the students.” The staff and faculty really enjoyed watching them all work together with their classmates to win the contest and make a difference for the needy in their community.
If you are interested in learning more about the Food Bank of North Alabama and how you can help, visit their Facebook page or their website at http://fbofna.org/.