Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 21 February 22, 1996 - CALSSA aids comunity shelter

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including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

CALSSA aids comunity shelter

By Stewart MacInnis

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 21 - February 22, 1996

The work of the staff association of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the generosity of students living in the nine-dormitory President's Community has resulted in the delivery of two large truckloads of donated items to the Montgomery County Community Shelter.

"We got a wide selection of items from the students," said Suzanne Piovano, staff association representative for the Horticulture Department and a member of the CALS Staff Association committee coordinating the collection effort in December. "We collected clothing, toiletries, and food in the boxes we put in every hall. We also got a lot of stuffed animals, which is a nice treat for the kids."

The Montgomery County Community Shelter is a transitional facility for the homeless. It is located in Christiansburg and helps people in need set up housekeeping.

Piovano said the effort to collect items from students was timed to coincide with the end of last semester, when students were clearing out for Christmas break. Forty-seven boxes were located throughout the dormitories, with at least one box on each hall. She said the RA's in the dormitories were very supportive of the effort.

"This is the first time we collected from students on this scale," she said. "It went so well, we plan to do it again in May."

In addition to collecting items from the students, Piovano said personnel in every CALS department also donated items. Departments collected different categories of basic household supplies to make donation decisions easier and to ensure a wide range of items was collected.