Next Sunday, get rid of your leftover bottles and cans and help support the Sidney Food Bank in one fell swoop as a group of students from the University of Victoria help you feed two birds with one scone (because, let’s face it, stoning birds isn’t exactly in keeping with charitable intentions).
Cody Allison, a second-year mechanical engineering student, is partnering with three of his fellow students to organize a bottle drive in support of the Sidney Food Bank.
The drive is part of a community group legacy project through a class in the School of Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education at UVic, whose aim is to improve the quality of life for individuals or groups of individuals. Past initiatives have included working with the Victoria Boys and Girls Club, the SPCA, the YM-YWCA and performing random acts of kindness.
“I grew up in Sidney, and it was really the first thing that came to mind,” says Allison.
The decision to do a bottle drive to raise money — instead of a food drive — came about after Allison and the group came up against a university restriction that prevented them from doing any door-to-door activities, including collecting donations. In speaking with the food bank, they were also told that, being still so soon after Christmas, the shelves are usually still fairly stocked, whereas the food bank’s coffers can be quite low.
Allison says they’d like to see at least $1,000 raised by the bottle drive.
“We’d like to get up into the four digits, that’d be great.”
The group will be collecting bottles at the Sidney Food Bank, 2297 Ocean St., on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pickup may also be available for larger donations of bottles.
For more information, contact Cody Allison at callison@uvic.ca.
