December 12, 2007
Cold morning weather and gray skies couldn't chill the holiday spirits of the Ambler Campus Owl Ambassadors as they delivered truckloads of donated food to the 11th Annual Camp Out for Hunger on Friday, December 7.
The Ambler campus Owl Ambassadors had invited all Temple University Ambler students, faculty, and staff to help support one of the largest hunger relief campaigns in the region and the generosity of the campus community was on display in abundance.
"We collected nearly 1,100 pounds of food to donate to Camp Out For Hunger," said Kelly Otis, Admissions Counselor and coordinator of the Owl Ambassador program at the Ambler campus. "That nearly triples the amount we were able to collect last year. Camp Out for Hunger is such a good cause, at this time of year, I think the campus just really wanted to help families in need."
Camp Out for Hunger is sponored by the Preston and Steve Show on 93.3-FM WMMR on behalf of Philabundance.
Morning show DJs Preston Elliot and Steve Morrison lived in an RV parked outside  the Guitar Center at the Metroplex Shopping Center in Plymouth Meeting from Monday, December 3 through Friday, December 7, to raise awareness about hunger relief efforts in the region. This year, more than 12 tons of food were donated and went to help families in the Philadelphia area.
At the Ambler campus, the Owl Ambassadors had marked drop off boxes located in West Hall.
“Not only are the Owl Ambassadors tour guides, but they are leaders on campus. What better way to use your leadership skills than to help out a great cause?” Otis said. "We'd like thank the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity for really getting up started this year by donating the food that they had collected from their own drive to the Camp Out for Hunger effort. We'd also like to thank all fo the student organization, students, faculty, and staff, who helped make this year's campaign such an exciting, and rewarding, experience for everyone involved."
According to Philabundance, the organization is
experiencing a serious shortage of food. There is usually an increased demand for food at this time of the year, and this year the demand is unusually high. Food banks across the country are reporting significant increases in the number of people seeking emergency food assistance.
There is still time to help families in need this holiday season by donating to Philabundance. Philabundance suggests that all donations to families in need be in boxes, cans, or plastic bottles and not require refrigeration. Examples include canned tuna, ready-to-eat cereal, canned fruits and vegetables, macaroni and cheese, boxed sugar, canned beef stew, and peanut butter and jelly. To assist Philabundance, you can do your part by donating or organizing a food drive.
“There are a lot of food drives and charity programs at this time of year on campus — our students are very dedicated to helping people and families in need,” Otis said. “We were always confident that we would receive a huge amount of support from the Ambler campus community but we far surpassed our expectations this year!”
For more information, contact Kelly Otis at kotis@temple.edu or 267-468-8101. For more information on the Camp Out for Hunger, visit here.
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