The Alumni Association-sponsored "One Can Make A Difference" drive to benefit the North Central Indiana Food Bank has raised $2,000 in the first three weeks, organizers said.
The Alumni Association began the fourth annual fund drive Oct. 20. It aims to collect money and non-perishable canned goods to benefit the North Central Indiana Food Bank, desperately in need of funds due to the holiday season.
Sean O'Brien, director of Alumni Community Service at the Alumni Association, estimates that by the end of the drive about $10,000 will be donated to the Food Bank.
The Food Bank was forced to close its doors Friday because it did not have enough food supplies to operate. It reopened Monday after it received the donations that had already been collected.
The 46 collection sites, located in campus buildings such as O'Shaughnessy Hall, both dining halls, Decio Faculty Hall and LaFortune, as well 24 of the 27 student dorms, aim to collect approximately $500 each.
"We wanted to make it as easy as possible," O'Brien said. We decided to work for spare change."
Some locations, especially in the faculty and administration buildings, have yielded several checks written for $50 and $100 dollars.
"The turnout has been simply overwhelming - the amount of support that the community has shown," said O'Brien.
At first, organizers collected canned goods at Notre Dame Stadium. Due to logistics, the drive shifted to pep rallies and residence halls and from canned goods to monetary donations, but canned goods are still accepted in some locations.
After the initial invitations were sent out, various departments asked to participate in the drive.
The Food Bank, which serves over 140,000 people per month, said that for each $500 that is donated, approximately 40,000 pounds of food can be delivered and distributed.
The fundraiser is scheduled to conclude Nov. 16.
