Fall Donations for Citations Drive Nets Record Amount
Thank you to the University of Kentucky campus community for making UK Transportation Services’ Fall Donations for Citations drive a big success!
Transportation Services collected 4,166 pounds of food and personal care items during the three-week donation drive, which ended on October 31.
In all, 519 students and staff had their citations voided during this time, contributing a whopping 6,597 individual items to UK’s Big Blue Pantry (BBP). BBP works to combat hunger and food insecurity for students.
This year’s drive also featured a friendly competition between the University of Kentucky and the University of Tennessee (UT) to see which program could gather the most items to support their respective food pantries.
While UT collected a significant amount of donations for their Big Orange Pantry, UK was more successful, meaning that the Cats canned the Vols this year! While UK won this year’s donations for citations competition, the result is that students in both schools benefited.
The competition was the brainchild of Maddie Duff, president of UK’s Student Government Association (UKSGA). She coordinated the contest between the two schools and worked with UT’s SGA president and the UT Parking and Transit department.
“Together we’re making a difference in the fight against food insecurity,” said Duff. “With your help 6,597 donations will go to aid UK students who need it most. From the bottom of our heart, UKSGA would like to say thank you to everyone! We would also like to say thank you to UTSGA. Without them, this friendly SEC community competition wouldn’t be possible. We hope this collaboration continues in the future!
As in previous years, UK students and employees who had a regular ($30) parking citation were able to pay the citation by donating food or personal care items. Since the program’s inception in 2016, Donations for Citations has become the Pantry’s largest contributor.
BBP also accepts donations from the campus community year-round. Visit the Pantry’s website for information about hours of operation or to offer donations outside of this program.