For the second year in a row, the NLC Rodeo Team hosted the Food Round Up, collecting donations for our local food banks.
The initiative partnered with Dawson Co-op again this year to maximize our efforts. Co-op provided Hunger Bags filled with $20 worth of groceries that the food banks were low on such as peanut butter, side dishes, and makings for spaghetti.
While local food banks benefit from generous holiday-season donations, supplies typically dwindle by February. It’s part of the NLC mission to give back to our community and the Food Round Up helps to ensure local families have access to essential groceries in these cold months.
This year, Rodeo students and NLC staff came together at the Co-op Mall on January 16 to fill 150 Hunger Bags with non-perishable food items.
Leanne Esau, Manager of the NLC Rodeo team, was pleased to be working with Dawson Co-op on this again this year.
“Heather and crew at Co-op again just provided such a wonderful environment and product for the NLC and the Rodeo Team to make the most of their time there,” she said.
The NLC Rodeo Team helped collect dry goods and pre-sold these Hunger Bags during a Dawson Creek Kodiaks hockey game on January 23, rallying support from the community.
Building on that momentum, they returned on February 3 along with student volunteers and NLC staff to collect more dry goods and sell additional Hunger Bags to mall shoppers.
In total, they sold 105 Hunger bags, collected several boxes of food donations, and filled both the rodeo truck and the NLC van. There was also a very generous donation of a $400 Walmart Gift card from the Sexsmith Vipers hockey team. It was donated at one the Kodiak NLC nights in Dawson Creek.
The final step of the project took place on February 4, when NLC staff delivered the donations to the Nawican Bergeron Youth And Cultural Centre, seeing firsthand the impact of their efforts.
Sheena Haaf, Executive Director of Nawican, was grateful for the community’s generosity.
“I just want to say thank you to the Northern Lights College for this wonderful donation that they gave to us. At the Nawican Friendship Centre we give out about 25 hampers a month to our vulnerable sector, so these hampers help so many families in the community.”
It was also a good experience for the students. Ethan Nelson, first year student and member of the rodeo team, was happy to participate.
“The NLC Rodeo Team Food Round Up was a wholesome, rewarding experience to be a part of. I and the rest of the Team really enjoyed this giving event that involved so much of the community at the Co-op grocery store today,” he said.
All food banks in Dawson Creek are connected, and donations are welcome year-round. Those looking to contribute can contact the Nawican Friendship Centre at 250-782-5202 for more information. You can also purchase Hunger bags for the food bank all year long at the Dawson Co-op.
Thank you to everyone who contributed.
“We couldn’t do it without the community help and all these donations… It’s going to feed so many families, and I just want to say thank you again,” said Haaf.
