On Tuesday Oct. 25, students from St. Lawrence College will collect donations of apple or President’s Choice gift cards at No Frills from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Students from the school’s Community Integration through Co-operative Education (CICE) program have organized the event as part of their field placement.
“I want to help families that are in need get healthy food, and help kids that need food,” said Kayla Grignon, SLC student.
Last year, the Fall Apple Drive donated 300 lbs of apples to the Agapè Centre.
“I want our class to collect even more than last year,” she said.
The Community Integration through Cooperative Education (CICE) program at St. Lawrence College is a two-year certificate designed for adults who wish to further their educational/vocational training in a community setting.
A fundamental aspect of the program is community placement.
“Through this experience, our CICE students are being exposed to some invaluable workplace skill development opportunities. As well, they are expanding their horizons and developing a greater awareness and empathy for those in the community,” said Victoria Workman, faculty at St. Lawrence College.
Students are involved from beginning to end: developing marketing materials, meeting with members of the community, receiving donations and assisting in transporting the apples to the food bank. The week following the event, students will finish off the project with a morning spent volunteering in the centre’s soup kitchen.
The local non-profit is thrilled to partner again with the college for the food-raising event.
“Fresh fruits are a real treat for many of our clients,” said Johanne Gauthier, Operations manager for the Agapè Centre. “We’ve been working hard to make sure that everyone who visits the food bank gets three produce items, so it’s wonderful to have groups organizing food drives for fresh foods.”
The Agapè Centre is the largest food bank and only regular community kitchen program in Cornwall. It provides food to more than 1,300 people each month.
A special thank you goes out to James and Jenn for allowing the group to host the apple drive at No Frills.
The CICE program is offered at all three of the college’s campuses. For more information contact Kevin Cooper at 613-933-6080, ext. 2263.
For more information about the Agapè Centre, visit http://agapecentre.ca
