Alabama State University News December 17, 2010 ASU Provides Holiday Meals to Montgomery Area Families Through its second annual "Yuletide Giving Project," ASU is giving back to the local community by donating 150 holiday food baskets to deserving families. Elizabeth Sellers came to ASU’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome on Friday, Dec. 17 to pick up Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Alumni, students, faculty and staff donated more than 6,500 pounds of food, including everything from green beans and stuffing, to onions and potatoes. Student organizations and ASU’s leadership team donated turkeys for the dinners. The food drive was part of the University’s second annual "Yuletide Giving Project," which provides Christmas dinner to deserving Montgomery area families. Sellers said she doesn’t know who submitted her name to receive the basket but she is happy that they did. The Montgomery native became emotional as she talked about what the donation would mean for her family. “I am very grateful to ASU for providing this dinner for my family,” Sellers said. “Someone submitted my name anonymously and I didn’t know what to expect. But I came here knowing that whatever I was given was going to be better than anything else I had.” Kela Jackson signed up to receive a basket. The mother of four said the dinner will help her family have a great Christmas. “This is such a big help, and I really appreciate getting this,” Jackson said. Kenneth Waters, ASU’s communications coordinator, said the "Yuletide Giving Project" is a way for the University to give back to the community in a big way. “Last year’s project was very successful, and we had an overwhelming response from the faculty and staff. This year, the economic climate has not improved for many people in our community and we wanted to help,” Waters said. “Our local alumni and students also joined in to help boost our efforts and we were able to increase the number of families who received dinner this year.” The University donated 150 baskets this year – twice the number donated last year. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children.