Deliveries set for Nov. 19
OXFORD,
Miss. – With the spirit of giving in mind, University of Mississippi
faculty, staff and students are again participating in the annual
“Adopt-A-Basket” program to provide Thanksgiving dinners for
families in the Oxford area.
Donations
of specific nonperishable food items, as well as gift cards, are needed
so that more than 200 baskets can be delivered Nov. 19.
“For
the past four years, students, faculty and staff have worked together to
give to the community through donating to Adopt-a-Basket,” said
Valeria Ross, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs and
volunteer services. “Over the tenure of this event, more than 800
baskets have been donated to local Lafayette-Oxford families, and it has
become an anticipated event by those who donate baskets and volunteer as
well as by those who receive the baskets.”
Interfaith
Compassion Ministries, Aramark & Catering Services and UM personnel
provide names of the families who can benefit from the Thanksgiving
baskets.
Besides
donating items and gift cards for the families, volunteers can help
assemble and pack boxes, Ross said. Individuals interested in
volunteering their time can contact the Office of the Dean of Students at
662-915-7247 or vross@olemiss.edu. Ross encourages every person who can
contribute by either donating items or volunteering to help pack the
boxes to commit to participating in the effort.
Physical
Plant is donating the boxes for the items and Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
has agreed for the third consecutive year to both load and deliver all
the baskets.
Items that
individuals, student organizations or university departments should
purchase to fill a basket include a $35 gift card from Wal-Mart, Kroger
or Big Star, along with the items listed below. The gift card is given to
families to help them buy perishables such as turkey or ham, milk, eggs,
butter, rolls and pie crusts.
The list
of nonperishable items needed for each basket includes:
– 2 large cans of
corn
– 2 large cans of
green beans
– 2 cans of
chicken broth
– 1 can of
cranberry sauce
– 3 pounds of
sweet potatoes
– 3 pounds of
white potatoes
– 1 can of
sweetened condensed milk
– 5 pounds of
sugar
– 5 pounds of
corn meal
– 1 large
onion
– 1 bunch of
celery
Coordinators ask that volunteers gather all the specified items and
refrain from buying items not on the list. The items should be dropped
off at the Union Ballroom from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 18 or 8-10:30 a.m.
Nov. 19.
The
Adopt-A-Basket initiative began more than four years ago as part of the
Mississippi Universities Service Into Caring project, involving the
state’s eight public institutions of higher learning.