A group of nine international students volunteered their time at a food drive on Saturday, October 24 to support Conestoga's food bank. This was the third year the students donated their time to the cause and they achieved record-breaking results. More than 1,000 lbs of food was donated; the most they have collected in previous years was 300 lbs.
A group of Conestoga’s international students volunteered their time on October 24, 2015 to collect donations for the campus food bank, a member agency of the Waterloo Region Food Bank.
Anmolpreet Singh, an international student in Conestoga’s Business Administration - Supply Chain and Operations Management program, volunteers with International Office events as often as he can. He supported the food drive because he thought it was a good cause. "I'm excited we broke our donation record," he said. "I didn't think we would collect that much, but then people started dropping off donations and they just kept coming." Singh and the other volunteers worked from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., averaging almost 250 lbs of food donations per hour.
The food drive was held at Food Basics on Fairway Road in Kitchener and the location was chosen due its high traffic and the interest it has with the international students -- the store is known for its wide range of international foods. The students who volunteered are from Portugal, Vietnam, India, Nigeria and the Ukraine.
The campus food bank, managed by Conestoga Students Inc., serves current Conestoga students and is a member agency of the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. The food bank distributes pre-packaged hampers to students and the food collected by the international volunteers will provide approximately one month of hampers.
"Many of the volunteers know students -- both international and local -- who use the food bank. They donated their time to this cause because they want to make a positive change on campus," said Samantha Lichtenheldt, international student activities coordinator.
To date, Conestoga hosts more than 1,600 international students from 77 different countries. Conestoga's International Education Office coordinates a comprehensive suite of services and activities to support students and help them achieve academic and social success.
For more information, visit the International Education Office website