Student Development Assistants encourage peers to ‘give thanks'

Student Development Assistants from the office of Institutional Advancement engaged the campus community in various “give thanks” initiatives throughout the month of November. 

They teamed up with Dining Services encouraging peers to “paw” it forward at various campus eateries by donating their flex or declining meal-plan dollars, all in support of The Cupboard and the battle against hunger.
In addition, “give thanks” initiatives continued as several students expressed reflections of their gratitude and thankfulness by writing and posting a blog sharing what their Penn College experience and donor support means to them.  

Thanks to the support from the Penn College community, this was the most successful “give thanks” campaign yet. 

The Cupboard allows hundreds of Penn College students to utilize the on-campus food pantry. This semester, almost 90 students visited to obtain food.
“We currently have five students with families to feed, and two of those are expecting. It is important for the college community to know that we just do not serve the single student, but we are providing entire families with nutritious food,” said Vicki K. Killian, Dining Services retail manager for The Cupboard. “One of our students was so thankful to be able to give her daughter one of her favorite meals that she asked for: spaghetti.”  

"For me, the ‘Give Thanks, Paw It Forward’ campaign has brought new meaning to being a Wildcat,” said Zachary J. Kravitz, a construction management major from Berwyn. “The displays of gratitude and charity around campus are even more evidence of the goodwill nature of this student body. I have no doubt that my peers will carry forward this spirit of grace from campus, out into the communities in which they will serve."

– Photos by the Institutional Advancement Office
and Tom Speicher, writer/video producer

Students get into the spirit of giving, with a mascot's encouragement.

Vintage dining-hall trays were used in a campuswide collection of food for The Cupboard.

The Wildcat shows off paw prints signed by campaign donors.

Raise a paw if you're #pctgrateful!

McCray is joined in CC Commons by Dawn J. Zimmerman, a general studies major from Granville Summit.

Dining Services manager Susan M. Phillips, a friendly face on a vital mission

Kravitz lends his leadership skills outside the Keystone Dining Room ...

... and Watts adds her face to the campaign, displaying some of the generated goodwill.

Appreciative scholarship recipients fill the room ...

Adding her thanks and holiday wishes to donors is Harlee G. Brooks, of Wellsboro, a pre-nursing major.

... putting pen to notecard to share their sentiments.