"Trick or Eat" Halloween food drive comes to Brock
Tim Stacey
Issue date: 10/27/09 Section: News
Trick or Eat, a new food drive campaign at Brock this year, will take place on Halloween night. Volunteers will be canvassing select neighborhoods for food and monetary donations.
Meal Exchange, a non-profit student-founded charity, has been running Trick or Eat Campaigns for many years now. Trick or Eat will be the first of many charitable events Meal Exchange will be putting on at Brock this year. This is Brock's first event, and organizers have high hopes for volunteer numbers.
Ryan Klamot, a third year political science major and Director of Marketing at Meal Exchange, explained the program and the goals he has for it this year.
"[Meal Exchange] has a mandate to try and alleviate hunger, try to alleviate pressure of local food banks, [and] try to provide children and residents of local communities with meals everyday," he said.
Meal Exchange hopes to raise $400,000 in food and $30,000 in monetary donations in 2009. So far, the campaign has raised 46 per cent of these goals.
Since 1993, Meal Exchange has run programs at over 50 campuses across Canada, and generated over $2.4 million, or 960,000 meals, to combat local hunger. There are 35 established campus-based chapters, involving over 22,000 student volunteers.
Meal Exchange was founded by 17-year-old Wilfrid Laurier student Rahul Raj. In his first year of university, he realized that his meal plan was much more than he would ever need.
Raj's grandmother, a volunteer worker with the impoverished in India, had always encouraged to him to help those in need. Raj decided to use the extra money to donate to local food banks, and found himself overwhelmed with volunteers willing to help.
Since then, it has grown to a nation-wide charity run by student volunteers who use their leadership skills and creative passion to make a difference in their local communities.
"Since this is the first year Meal Exchange has run an event at Brock, we are anticipating our numbers and involvement to be better than ever," said Klamot. "We really hope this will impact Brock for years to come."
Above all else, volunteers are needed for this event to be a success. The kick-off party will take place from 4 - 8 p.m. in Plaza 409 on the Oct. 31.
Meal Exchange is planning to host many more events on the Brock campus this year, so students who are unable to help out on Halloween are encouraged to help out with future events.
For more information or to register visit mealexchange.com
Meal Exchange, a non-profit student-founded charity, has been running Trick or Eat Campaigns for many years now. Trick or Eat will be the first of many charitable events Meal Exchange will be putting on at Brock this year. This is Brock's first event, and organizers have high hopes for volunteer numbers.
Ryan Klamot, a third year political science major and Director of Marketing at Meal Exchange, explained the program and the goals he has for it this year.
"[Meal Exchange] has a mandate to try and alleviate hunger, try to alleviate pressure of local food banks, [and] try to provide children and residents of local communities with meals everyday," he said.
Meal Exchange hopes to raise $400,000 in food and $30,000 in monetary donations in 2009. So far, the campaign has raised 46 per cent of these goals.
Since 1993, Meal Exchange has run programs at over 50 campuses across Canada, and generated over $2.4 million, or 960,000 meals, to combat local hunger. There are 35 established campus-based chapters, involving over 22,000 student volunteers.
Meal Exchange was founded by 17-year-old Wilfrid Laurier student Rahul Raj. In his first year of university, he realized that his meal plan was much more than he would ever need.
Raj's grandmother, a volunteer worker with the impoverished in India, had always encouraged to him to help those in need. Raj decided to use the extra money to donate to local food banks, and found himself overwhelmed with volunteers willing to help.
Since then, it has grown to a nation-wide charity run by student volunteers who use their leadership skills and creative passion to make a difference in their local communities.
"Since this is the first year Meal Exchange has run an event at Brock, we are anticipating our numbers and involvement to be better than ever," said Klamot. "We really hope this will impact Brock for years to come."
Above all else, volunteers are needed for this event to be a success. The kick-off party will take place from 4 - 8 p.m. in Plaza 409 on the Oct. 31.
Meal Exchange is planning to host many more events on the Brock campus this year, so students who are unable to help out on Halloween are encouraged to help out with future events.
For more information or to register visit mealexchange.com
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