Three students from Associate Professor Judy Baca’s Chicano Studies 230 class are organizing a food drive to benefit families in need. The food drive will take place at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s final home football game on Nov. 8.

Food drive organizer Kaylie Erickson said the idea came from an assignment in Baca’s class where the professor provided a general project outline, and encouraged students to come up with an idea that would benefit the community.

Erickson’s group, along with fellow students Carl Diaz and Ruth Tompkins, came up with the idea of a football food drive.

She said that the proximity to CSU-Pueblo’s dorms and the large number of people who will be attending the game was the perfect venue for an assignment like this.

The team was considering more common ideas, such as holding a food drive outside of a Wal-Mart or other large retailer, but decided the event should be something people in the CSU-Pueblo community can participate in with greater ease, Erickson said.

The team then partnered with the Los Pobres Sacred Hearts Church in Avondale, Colo.

Erickson said that all contributions received at the football game will be directly donated to the church on the night of the game. This way, contributors do not have to worry about their contribution going to good use in a timely fashion.

Students will be located at all of the gates at the Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl football stadium with collection boxes.

Items needed include: canned food, winter clothing in all sizes, First-Aid kits, gift cards, toys and other non-perishable items.

All donated items will be distributed to low-income families who are having a hard time with the upcoming holiday season.

Erickson said any volunteers who would like to assist in the gathering of the items are welcome.

Erickson offered this statement from the food drive team:

“As a project in the Chicano studies class, we will be helping out local families that are in need. As college students, we all know what it’s like to not have very much. At the next football game, Nov. 8, we will be standing at the entrance gate with a box. All we ask you to do is bring an item on the list to help someone else out. It may not seem like a lot but if we can get everyone to contribute, this project will make a huge difference. No, you will not get a free ticket to the game…this is just a pay it forward deal. We will be donating the items to a church called Los Pobres Sacred Heart Church in Avondale.”

Anyone wishing to help, but unable to attend the game or volunteer at the food drive can contact Erickson at 507-469-4325.