A food drive competition coordinated by Indiana University of Pennsylvania's College of Health and Human Services Service Committee resulted in a donation of 1,058 items for the IUP Food Pantry and Help Center.
Clockwise from left: Chelsey Baun, management technician, College of Health and Human Services; Sylvia Gaiko, dean, College of Health and Human Services; Dennis Frketich, faculty in Employment and Labor Relations; Pamela O'Harra, faculty in Nursing and Allied Health; Nicole Buse, faculty in Hospitality Management and chair of Service Committee; Liz Moreno, student worker in College of Health and Human Services; and Jodie Seybold, faculty in Food and Nutrition. Service Committee members missing from photo: Alida Merlo, faculty in Criminology and Criminal Justice; Susan Venatta, faculty in Human Development, Fashion and Interior Design; Keri Kulik, faculty in Kinesiology, Health and Sport Science.
“Service has always been a core value in the college, and it is wonderful that Nicole (Buse) and the College's Service Committee continue to expand our reach in support of IUP and the community,” IUP Dean of the College of Health and Human Services Sylvia Gaiko said.
“The food drive exceeded our expectations due to the support of the other IUP colleges and their donations – truly, a great effort by the total IUP academic team.”
The IUP Food Pantry and Help Center, located in the Suites on Pratt, opened in September to address the issues of food insecurity and insufficiency. Faculty, staff, students, student organizations and alumni donations have provided funds for the Food Pantry and Help Center, including Terry Serafini, a 1961 graduate of IUP, who has provided significant support for the initiative and funding for student leaders working with the food pantry project.
IUP's Division of Student Affairs oversees the IUP Food Pantry and Help Center, and students from Each One Reach One, a program in the Frederick Douglass Institute, have been volunteers for the initiative, including offering three “pop-up” food pantry events in 2018. The center also distributes donated school supplies and clothing.
The College Service Committee in the College of Health and Human Services has as its mission to expand the impact on the region through faculty and staff engagement. It is chaired by Nicole Buse, a faculty member in the Department of Hospitality Management, and includes representatives from each of the departments in the College and the office of the Dean of the College.
In addition to the November food drive, the committee partnered with Full of Heart and the Indiana Hilton Garden Inn Indiana on a coat and winter clothing drive. More than 800 items were collected through this drive, held in October and November.
Full of Heart is a non-profit organization started by Keri Kulik, a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Sport Science. The organization's mission is “to fill hearts with the love and joy that comes from the act of giving,” Kulik said.
A free “shopping event” for local families of the donated items was held Nov. 23 in the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom. In addition to the shopping event, IUP athletics provided 300 vouchers for tickets to the IUP basketball game that evening, and Aramark donated 300 free hot dog vouchers to the children shopping at the event.
The College of Health and Human Services includes 28 programs leading to a bachelor's degree, 16 master's degree programs, three Ph.D. programs, 16 minors, two associate degree programs, five credit-bearing certificate programs, four noncredit programs, and an interdisciplinary bachelor of science program. Departments in the College include criminology and criminal justice; culinary arts; employment and labor relations; food and nutrition; hospitality management; human development, fashion, and interior design; kinesiology, health, and sport science; nursing and allied health professions; and safety sciences.