Bobcats Give Back for Thanksgiving

For several years, Frostburg State University academic and administrative departments, student groups, and campus community members have organized

Thanksgiving food baskets through the Sponsor-A-Family initiative. Since its beginning, this initiative has provided Thanksgiving baskets for over 250 families in Western Maryland. This Thanksgiving was no exception with many groups, like Gamma Theta Upsilon, the Geographical Honor Society who made sign-up sheets and collected items for two baskets with support of the Department of Geography. The members of Tau Kappa Epsilon and the staff at the Lane Center are regular contributors, as well.

A notable new addition to the list of groups who were involved was The National Council of Negro Women’s FSU chapter under the leadership of President Kalyn Brown. While the sisters of the organization were not able to donate items, they were able to donate their time in delivering the support to families in the region.  Lyric Mitchell, the chapter’s vice president says, “The National Council of Negro Women became involved in delivering the baskets when we saw the advertisement for helping make baskets and all we wanted to do was help. Mrs. Daniels asked if we could help deliver baskets because they were short staffed and we were super excited to and said yes!”

Six members of the organization spent their day delivering over 30 baskets to the homes of those in need. Lyric says, “For me and my sisters, delivering these baskets meant a lot to us. Just being able to give back to our community and becoming conscious of how many people that we live around who need help. It was a very humbling experience for us and really let us know to never take life for granted and be grateful for what you have.”

Though Thanksgiving 2020 may seem far away while final exams still lie ahead, the lessons learned through giving back are not lost on those who participated.  “This is the very first time we’ve helped deliver thanksgiving baskets but it won’t be the last,” says Lyric.