Freezin' for a Reason-Ross Students "Rockin for The Hungry

Despite looming finals and frigid weather, members of section two were still available to lend a hand at the annual "Rockin' for the Hungry" food drive sponsored by Food Gatherers, the food bank of Washtenaw County. Hosted by Busch's Fresh Food market in downtown Ann Arbor from Dec. 2-6, the event raised 258 tons of food.

"Rockin' for the Hungry" was the first in what will be regular volunteer opportunities for section two. Kara Honeycutt, one of three global citizenship chairs for the section, has been actively recruiting volunteers to participate in community events.
"They aren't not getting out into the community for lack of opportunities," she said.

Students are embracing these volunteering opportunities as a way to interact outside of classes, clubs and recruiting at Ross.

"Unfortunately volunteer work, with so many other things, has been moved to the back burner while I am at b-school, but when I found out that the Food Gatherersdrive fit my schedule, I jumped at the opportunity," Candice Pridjian said.

At the food drive, volunteers handed out fliers to shoppers as they entered Busch's, collected the non-perishable purchases when shoppers left, loaded food items onto trucks, and occasionally patrolled the parking lot for discarded fliers. "I was surprised and thrilled to see how many people actually gave. I was more touched when families asked if they could come back later in the week when they were more financially capable of giving," Pridjian said.

For busy students, working with Food Gatherers is an easy way to maintain a presence within the community.

"They know how to accommodate people's schedules and make it really easy to give back," Honeycutt said. "In speaking with a few of the board members, I learned more about the huge impact Food Gatherers has on the surrounding community."

Honeycutt is also looking at other organizations for next semester, such as the local VA hospital, Habitat for Humanity and the Linus Foundation.
"The high level of interest gave me more motivation. If there's a general interest out there, I will continue to network with more organizations," she said. "There are so many great opportunities to give back to the Ann Arbor community and although we are busy, it's opportunities like these that give us more perspective and give us a break from the craziness that is Ross."

"It's important to give back to a community that is supporting us right now. It helps give you a better sense of where you live," Greg Reinwald said.