Skidmore?s support of SCEOC 'tremendous'

Donations from the Skidmore College community to the annual Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council?s ?Adopt-a-Family? Thanksgiving food basket program this year were ?tremendous,? according to Julie Hoxsie, executive director of the SCEOC.

Through the Adopt-A-Family project, SCEOC distributes Thanksgiving baskets to local families. Each $25 donation provides a full holiday meal to a family in need. The baskets include all the fixings for a full Thanksgiving meal: fresh potatoes, carrots, and apples from local farms (some of the apples were picked this year by Skidmore students at Saratoga Apple); canned cranberry sauce, corn, green beans, applesauce, and yams; gravy; and a $10 gift certificate to purchase a turkey at Price Chopper.

A total of 123 donors contributed approximately $6,900, which helped to support 267 families, reported Hoxsie. The organization defines ?family? as four people. In this, the 18th year of the Adopt-a-Family program, 775 families were served, she added.

Skidmore has a strong record of responding to the Adopt-a-Family appeal, due in part to the work of economics Professor Roy Rotheim, Quadracci Professor in Social Responsibility and longtime SCEOC booster. He is a former SCEOC board member and has been a volunteer cook at the EOC soup kitchen for two decades. Rotheim annually represents the SCEOC by reaching out to the campus community to encourage its support of the SCEOC, by encouraging students to volunteer at the soup kitchen, and by encouraging donations of food and funds from Skidmore faculty and staff. He is also a member of the Skidmore Cares program, spearheaded by Marie Glotzbach, wife of Skidmore President Phillip Glotzbach, which has engaged the entire Skidmore community to provide food items directly to our low-income population. Last year Skidmore provided enough food to stock fully the EOC Food Pantry for two months. This year?s project seeks to provide the same level of support to the Regional Food Bank.

Service to SCEOC is a Rotheim family tradition. Roy?s daughter Jena Ruth Rotheim, a 1993 Skidmore graduate, is now a member of the SCEOC board of directors and serves as its chief legal counsel.

Said Roy Rotheim of this year?s response by Skidmore, ?The amount of funds and the number of contributors speak volumes about the generosity of the College to Saratoga?s low-income community. As an economist, someone who always thinks about ?who is eating; who is not; and why? I believe that supporting SCEOC, particularly in this recessionary time, is essential. It is gratifying to know that so many of my friends and colleagues share my concern for the hungry in our community and act on that concern.?

Hoxsie added, ?This year?s response by Skidmore to the Adopt-a-Family appeal may be the highest amount of funds ever raised. We are very grateful for the support of the Skidmore community, especially now, when the need is higher than ever.?