Food Drive at the Mount Yields Hefty Haul

NEWBURGH – Mount Saint Mary College students donated more than $750 worth of food on Monday, November 21, helping to feed local people in need this Thanksgiving.
The initiative, spearheaded by the college’s Campus Ministry, delivered the food to Newburgh’s Loaves and Fishes program for distribution to local families.

Mount chaplain and director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Francis Amodio, O.Carm, was very pleased with the Mount’s commitment to aiding the less fortunate this Thanksgiving.
“By doing works of mercy…we’re fulfilling the command of God to love your neighbor,” explained Fr. Amodio. “It’s important that our students learn the value of service to our community.”

In addition, the college’s Delta Leadership Society student service club also hosted a food drive, yielding several pounds of donations.

The Mount’s spirit of giving didn’t end there. The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) student club hosted a family-style Thanksgiving meal for more than a dozen at-risk youths on Saturday, November 19. The successful event provided a positive, nurturing atmosphere to help the “bigs” encourage and empower each of the “littles.”

“This is always a great meet-up because we get the chance to give thanks together as a club,” said BBBS president Rose Linehan of New Hyde Park, N.Y. “Many ‘littles’ kept saying how the club is a second family to them.”

Also on November 19, the college’s Aging United student club brought some Thanksgiving cheer to the residents of Montgomery Nursing Home in Newburgh, N.Y. during a visit. Aging United explores opportunities in service, programming, and research in the field of aging and hosts several events throughout the semester. In recent years, it has become a club tradition to visit the nursing home during the holiday season.