Community Outreach Program Continues through December

Since it was launched in November, Skidmore Cares, the community outreach initiative designed to help local families in need, has drawn a strong response from the campus community, particularly students. A November food donation campaign spearheaded by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee raised $1,800 and collected 200 cans of food.

During December, offices and departments are encouraged to contribute toward the ambitious goal of providing the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council with a month's supply of food for the needy.

Skidmore Cares has a dual goal for its inaugural year: to provide the EOC's food pantry with a month's supply of its most important food items, and to provide local children in need with a holiday gift of gently used books.

The EOC has provided Skidmore Cares with a list of foods considered crucial to its operation, and the food drive is targeting those items. Student, faculty, and staff organizers have developed the following list of suggested donations by offices, which will be collected during the week of Dec. 4:

- Academic Affairs: peanut butter and jelly

- Admissions: canned fruit and can openers

- Advancement: juice and canned meat

- Finance/Administration: powdered milk and mashed potatoes

- Student Affairs: brown rice and tuna

From Monday through Friday, Dec. 4-8, donation bins will be located at Case Desk. In addition, there will be a donation bin at the Scribner Carriage House from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. next week.

Members of the College community attending the annual holiday open house hosted by President and Mrs. Glotzbach during the weekend of Dec. 9 and 10 are encouraged to bring donations to the party, where students will be available to collect and organize the items.

As in past years, faculty and staff have received an invitation suggesting a specific date and time to attend the Open House. Family members are welcome, and there will be activities for children in the Carriage House. Children may want to bring a donation of books they've outgrown so that another child might enjoy them.

"Skidmore Cares is a wonderful opportunity for the College to be a good neighbor within the Saratoga Springs community. We hope the members of the campus community will join us as we reach out to help local families in need," said Marie Glotzbach, who has spearheaded the effort.