This content was published: January 13, 2010. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Rock Creek student leaders tackle hunger on Jan. 18
Photos and story by James Hill
The Rock Creek Campus, which already runs a student food bank called “The Canteen,” will hold a one-day food drive on Monday, Jan. 18 that will continue on the campus through Thursday, Jan. 21. Led by 95 students from six Rock Creek leadership groups the event will benefit the Oregon Food Bank in Hillsboro.
The idea of a “Day On” verses a “Day Off” for Dr. Martin Luther King Day came from a national movement called “Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service,” www.mlkday.gov. The Rock Creek student leaders’ choice of a service project however, rose from concerns for the hungry in Washington County. Stats indicate that number of people going hungry has increased by 50 percent in Washington County from last year.
Students will station themselves at the exits of at least five major grocery stores along 185th Avenue, in Hillsboro and Beaverton. The student leaders will be working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will be highly visible standing near Oregon Food Bank food drums in their red volunteer t-shirts.
The six groups are student government, Oregon Leadership Institute, equity ambassadors, Women’s Resource Center, student outreach leaders, College Assistance for Migrants Program and student clubs. They have challenged each other to a friendly competition for who will raise the most food.
In November, the Rock Creek Women’s Resource Center collected food for 52 Thanksgiving boxes, which were donated to needy students. In December the same group ran an adoption campaign to bring 32 holiday gifts to the children of needy students. A December holiday drive by the campus’s Veteran’s Club brought in 45 gifts for the Forest Grove Armory 141st Brigade. But the Dr. King Day of Service marks Rock Creek’s widest community effort so far. The student leadership has set a goal to collect 10,000 pounds of food in one day.
Locations in Washington County:
Albertsons: 18425 West Union, Portland
Haggen Food & Pharmacy: 18000 NW Evergreen Parkway, Hillsboro
Safeway: 2177 NW 185th Ave., Beaverton
Albertsons: 888 NE 25th Ave., Hillsboro
Whole Foods: 19440 NW Cornell Road, Hillsboro
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »