By Kelly Ann Graff
Staff Writer
During the winter months, the Community Action Committee (CAC) often sees a decline in donations yet an increase in need from its food pantry. Katie Snyder (C’17) and her sorority, Kappa Omega, seek to prevent that drop this year with their Sewanee Hearts and Grocery Carts event.
SHGC is a fundraiser, a canned food drive, and a kid-friendly and Valentine themed community event that will take place on February 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the BC Hearth Room. To raise money for the C.A.C., there will be a raffle and a basket auction. Campus organizations such as The Writing House and APO have put together gift baskets for the auction. The items in the raffle have been donated by local businesses including: The Sewanee Inn, Highpoint, Papa Ron’s, Crossroad’s, Monteagle Florist, Sewanee Dining, Mountain Goat Market, Mountain Outfitters, Ivywild, Taylor’s, Sandy’s Sweet Cakes, and more. Tickets for the raffle can be purchased at McClurg during lunch on February 1 through 5.
As Kappa Omega’s Service Chair, Snyder says. “We wanted to create an event that catered both to the student body and to the community— we wanted to create an event where both students and community members came together for a common cause and to serve the greater good.” In order to engage Sewanee students, the canned food drive will act as a competition between campus organizations. To bring the community together on the day of the event, there will also be Valentine cookie decorating and card making.
Snyder began Sewanee Hearts and Grocery Carts last year, raising $1,000 in funds. This year, she hopes to surpass that amount and raise at least $1,500. Snyder expounds upon Kappa Omega’s service mission, saying, “many of the girls in Kappa Omega are passionate about community service, and we feel a need to give back to the community. Sewanee is such a wonderful place… the people are a part of what makes it so great. The C.A.C. helps so many people and we want to help the C.A.C. be able to do that. The C.A.C. often runs low on funds and canned food items in the winter months after Christmas… they often run out of food to help the families in the area before their next food truck arrives. That’s why KO has made it our mission to do whatever we can to help.”
For those who wish to participate but are unable to attend the event, Kappa Omega has set up a website for online donations at pearup.com/shgc2016/rally.