Members of Unified We Serve, CSUN’s campus volunteer program, celebrates the fifth annual clothing and food drive by displaying the thousands of items collected on the steps of the Delmar T. Oviatt Library on Nov. 13. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

Students, faculty and staff of California State University, Northridge donated more than 10,000 food and clothing items to MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), the largest poverty agency in the San Fernando Valley.

“This symbolizes that there is power in numbers,” said Justin Weiss, coordinator of CSUN’s Unified We Serve. “We can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of families together.”

Unified We Serve, CSUN’s student volunteer program, and Community Engagement, the university’s service-learning program, partnered in a one-week holiday drive during the fifth annual campuswide event. The event culminated on Nov. 13 with a display of the donations on the steps of the Delmar T. Oviatt Library as evidence of the “collective power” of CSUN students, faculty and staff.

Weiss said the group doubled their collections from last year with 9,013 non-perishable goods, 950 articles of clothing, 50 books and 25 toys donated. Awards and recognition were given to individuals, clubs and organizations that made the largest donations. The faculty/staff award was given to James Ballard, a Department of Sociology professor who donated 3,500 items; and the Lambda Sigma Gamma fraternity that donated 746 items.

“We’re really excited about helping out all these families for the holidays that might not otherwise have anything to celebrate,” said Richard Weinroth, director of MEND’s food bank and executive chef. “This really does go a long way in making the holidays happy for so many.”

Weinroth said the Pacoima-based agency serves 20,000 people a month and acts as a food bank to about 30 organizations. He said this year the agency will adopt about 1,400 families for the holidays and CSUN’s donations will provide for most of those on the list.

Travis White, a Unified We Serve program assistant and a junior majoring in criminology at CSUN, said it feels good working with the program and collecting the items because you can see how a “small donation” can make a difference in someone’s life.

For more information about student volunteer service at CSUN, visit Unified We Serve.

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