Students, faculty, and staff at Frederick Community College recently donated nearly 900 food items and hygiene products to the Frederick Rescue Mission after a campus-wide collection drive.

The two-week drive was part of a new on-campus service learning initiative led by an interdisciplinary group of faculty and staff to explore and improve community issues around poverty and food access.

“This effort was about making service learning more accessible to a wider variety of students,” said Christine Rai, Assistant Professor of English who helped organize the drive. “We plan on duplicating and expanding this initiative every semester, and hope that it will become a source of transformation in our community and in students’ sense of empathy and agency.”

As part of the initiative, students viewed and discussed the documentary “A Place at the Table,” which examines hunger in America through the stories of three individuals who struggle with hunger and food insecurity.  The students then placed boxes around campus to collect donations. At the end of the drive, students, faculty, and staff came together to organize and deliver the donations to the Frederick Rescue Mission.

Handouts for community agencies that welcome volunteers and an action list to end hunger were also distributed on campus to encourage students to explore further service opportunities. Future plans will build off this initial model to include a panel of guest speakers and a service fair with community agencies.

Faculty and staff interested in planning and supporting future service learning efforts on campus can contact Christine Rai.

For more information on service learning at FCC, contact Melissa Main at 301.624.2745.