During its inaugural school supply drive in August, the Service Professional Advisory Council (SPAC) at Northern Arizona University collected close to 2,000 items.
Cassie Petit, chairwoman of SPAC, said people brought in boxes of cereal, canned meats and soup for Louie’s Cupboard along with notebooks, backpacks, clothing, gift cards and many other donated items, which will be distributed by the Office of Student Affairs to low-income students at NAU.
“We about filled an office with the collected items,” she said.
Donated items included:
Food
- Cereal
- Canned chicken and tuna
- Peanut butter
- Soup
- Rice
- Macaroni and cheese
School supplies
- Notebooks
- Binders
- USB drives
- Backpacks
- Pens
- Calculators
- Staples gift cards
Clothing and toiletries
- Toothpaste and toothbrushes
- Shampoo and conditioner
- Blankets
- Laundry detergent
- Snow boots
- Business casual clothing
- Target gift cards
According to Petit, approximately 1,500 to 2,000 items were donated, and the food collected will support about 30 families. People interested in donating to Louie’s Cupboard throughout the year can contact Louiescupboard@gmail.com or Tim Melnick at Tim.Melnick@nau.edu.
About SPAC
The Service Professional Advisory Council is the officially recognized body to represent service professionals on campus. SPAC meets once a month during the academic year on the third Thursday of the month. You do not have to be a council member to attend meetings. Check the website’s meeting schedule for updated meeting times and locations.
About Louie’s Cupboard
Louie’s Cupboard, which is part of First-gen Programs at NAU, provides nonperishable food and resources to students and staff in need. More than 200 students were served last year through this project.