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LSU Continues 'Together We CAN' Drive

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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LSU Continues 'Together We CAN' Drive

BATON ROUGE — As part of LSU’s continued goal to give back to the community and in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Southeastern Conference, the Student-Athlete Advisory Council is entering the final week of a10-day long “Together We CAN” food drive to support the regional food banks near member institutions.

The food drive began on Friday, Sept. 21 and continues through Sunday, Sept. 30. All 12 institutions in the SEC are competing against one another during the 10-day event to see which school can collect the most food as measured in pounds. All of the canned food collected at LSU during the drive will be donated to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Canned food items can be donated throughout the week in barrels located in front of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes entrances located in the old Gym Armory Building just up the hill from Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. In addition, food will be collected at Tiger soccer team’s games against Mississippi State on Friday at 7 p.m. and against Ole Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the LSU Soccer Complex.

Barrels were located at the Maravich Center for the volleyball team’s matches this past weekend and at Highland Road Park last Saturday as the cross country team hosted the LSU Tiger Cross Country Festival. Student-athletes from various sports collected food on the ramps of the Maravich Center during the Tiger Athletic Foundation Tailgate before Saturday’s win over South Carolina.

The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is a non-profit organization that exists to service short-term, unmet food needs of individuals in the 12-parish greater Baton Rouge area by providing food to more than 100 charitable agencies operating food pantries, group homes, shelters, meal sites and special agencies.

Established in 1984, the Food Bank’s purpose is accomplished by supporting or providing services such as food distribution and educational programs. It provides food to more than 100 charitable agencies operating food pantries, group homes, shelters, meal sites and special agencies. Every day, the Food Bank network helps 7,700 people and in 2006 distributed over 10.6 million pounds of food free of charge.

The “Together We CAN” food drive is organized by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council in conjunction with the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills program. The Student-Athlete Advisory Council serves as the governing body for the LSU student-athletes. Council members sponsor many other community service events including the Halloween BOOzar and the Christmas Toy Drive.

The CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success)/Life Skills Program was designed by the NCAA to help student-athletes realize higher academic achievement, increase likelihood of graduation and enter a chosen profession with a higher level of vision, knowledge, motivation, self-responsibility and greater overall success. In Spring 2003, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program honored one of LSU’s most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.