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Holiday stars project

The 2011 Holiday Stars Project is Underway

Holiday Stars Project logoWe are looking foward to another fantastic year. A huge thank you to all the people who give their time, energy, and resources to help feed the people of central Illinois. Check out the links below to find out more about the results of the 2010 project.

Final Collection Total

After 5 weeks of Holiday Stars collections on campus, the final results were tremendous! The UIS community raised 9612 lbs of food for the Central Illinois Foodbank! This is over 3000 lbs more than we collected last year, and over 5000 pounds more than we collected during our very first Holiday Stars Project. You can see a breakdown of all these donations below.

We're so proud of all of UIS's efforts!

Thank You!

With such a huge undertaking, we have many people we'd like to thank for their help and support.

  • The Holiday Stars Committee: Kelly Thompson, Jennifer Berry, Dr. Pamela Hammond-McDavid, Beth Hoag, Nichole Inkel-Pongracz, Jan Kirkham, Mindy McCaffrey, Joan Sestak, Jessica Yocum, and Jordan Jeffers - For all their hard work, planning, and advice to continue to strengthen the Holiday Stars Program
  • Sangamon Auditorium, especially Mindy McCaffery - For conducting two special collections during holiday performances at Sangamon Auditorium
  • The students who participated in Trick or Treat for Canned Goods - For continuing to give back to the city of Springfield, and for pushing their friends and classmates to do the same
  • Beth Hoag's UNI 101 Class - For their special collection among commuter students, and Beth Hoag, in particular, for the use of her golf cart!
  • AmeriCorps M3C member Eric Reuss and the other volunteers at Lincoln Residence Hall - For conducting a special collection in the student dorms.
  • Jan Kirkham and the Daughters of the American Revolution - For dedicating a meeting to collect food for the Holiday Stars Project
  • UIS Housing - For collecting student gifts of food at their annual Fall Feast
  • Central Illinois Foodbank - For all the great work they do as a steward of our gifts, and for serving the city of Springfield and central Illinois.
  • Black Male Collegiate Society - For leading our on campus collection efforts, weighing, tracking, and transporting every can and box throughout the project.
  • And finally, the staff, faculty, and students of UIS - For filling those food bins week after week, giving without praise or acknowledgement, in the knowledge that their gifts would soon be gracing the table of a family in need.

Thank you all!

Final Collection Breakdown

Collection Weight*

Trick or Treat for Canned Goods

7,637
Sangamon Auditorium Show Collection TBA
On Campus - Week 1 TBA
On Campus - Week 2 TBA
On Campus - Week 3 TBA
On Campus - Week 4 & 5 TBA
Other Collections TBA
Total 7,637

*Note: All monetary donations are counted at the rate of $1 = 1 lb of food.

Thanks again for your generosity this year. We look forward to seeing our gifts continue to grow in the years to come.

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Trick or Treat for Canned Goods 2010

2010 Trick or Treat for Canned GoodsOur 2010 Trick or Treat for Canned Goods was by far our most successful yet. UIS students raised a total of 8354 lbs of food in a single night. Thank you to every team captain and every team member who took time to help the people of Springfield.

And a big thank you to all the generous people of Springfield who continue to give during this event.

And now on to the results...

The top three prizes were extremely close this year, with only 38 pounds separating first from third.

The winners are:

1st Prize ($150) - Lambda Pi Eta - 798 lbs

2nd Prize ($100) - APO/Psychology Club - 779 lbs

3rd Prize ($75) - Goodfellas / Goodgirls - 760 lbs

The best of the rest was headed by Christian Student Fellowship and two independent groups, Team America and Monstars, who were separated by a single pound. All three of these groups raised more than the first place winner in the 2009 contest. This was also the first year that a team went outside of Springfield, as one of our Leadership for Life students took the initiative to raise food in her home city of Rockford.

  • Christian Student Fellowship - 642 lbs
  • Monstars - 632 lbs
  • Team America - 631 lbs
  • UIS Women's Golf - 569 lbs
  • Alternative Spring Break - 525 lbs
  • Chemistry/ Biology Clubs - 513 lbs
  • Leadership for Life - 496 lbs
  • UIS Women's Basketball - 462 lbs
  • UIS Softball - 451 lbs
  • SPA Girls - 418 lbs
  • Beth Hoag's Uni 101 - 277 lbs
  • UIS Men's Basketball - 224 lbs
  • MSS Teaching - 176 lbs
  • Military/Veteran Students Organization - 131 lbs
  • The R Team - 60 lbs

Thanks again to all those who participated. Whether you were part of one of the top three teams or not, every can and box is important. Sometime in the near future, someone right here in Springfield will be feeding their families with the food you collected. And that’s pretty cool to think about. So one more time, thank you so much.

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Holiday Stars Project logoWhat is the Holiday Stars Project?

In 2008, a campus-wide committee met to create a tradition, one that would bring focus to what the University of Illinois Springfield could do to strengthen our community during the holiday season. The committee eventually developed the Holiday Stars Project, a month-long food drive for the Central Illinois Foodbank.

Look for Holiday Stars collection bins all around campus, every year during the month of November. See below for the list of preferred donations.

Preferred donations:

  • Cereal
  • Rice
  • Pasta and Canned Pasta Sauce
  • Soups, Stews, and Chili
  • Macaroni and Cheese
  • Canned Fruits and Vegetables
  • Diapers

Please do not donate:

  • Food in glass containers
  • Unlabeled products
  • Homemade items
  • Open or used items

Be sure to check back here throughout November to see updates on the collection!

You can read more about the 2008 and 2009 Holiday Stars Projects here.

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