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HAVOC officers Laurel Emurian '11, Brian Mizoguchi '11 and Kelsey Craw '11 organize gifts.
HAVOC officers Laurel Emurian '11, Brian Mizoguchi '11 and Kelsey Craw '11 organize gifts.

As the holidays approach, organizations and departments all over campus are getting involved in projects that are focused on making this time of year happier for others. We know that we may have missed some good stories of selfless giving, but we hope you enjoy those that we have gathered.

In the COOP (Community Outreach and Opportunity Project), College Chaplain Jeff McArn and Director of Outreach and Orientation Amy James, have been collecting gifts for the Cosmopolitan Center, House of the Good Shepherd and Johnson Park Center. 

Also, through a joint effort with one of Hamilton's Bonner Leaders, Emily Chamberlain '10, COOp is collecting gifts for the Family Treatment Court families, a program serving Oneida County residents. It provides drug treatment and other forms of counseling for parents who have fallen off track in their parenting due to their substance abuse problems. It works with these families until the parents have shown they can provide for the needs of their family. They are currently serving about 22 families. James notes, "With this project, many good things have happened. We put out an appeal to departments, student organizations and sports teams, and some of these are 'adopting' families or groups of children." 

The Music Department, Emerson Gallery, Career Center, Human Resources, Sociology Department, Dean of Students Office, the Science Center, HOC, Hillel, the women's soccer team, the men's rugby team, the Brothers, and Saunders Residence Hall have all adopted families or have provided gifts to groups. In addition, many individuals have stepped forward to help out with food baskets, monetary donations and gifts. 

Campus service organization HAVOC sponsored its traditional mitten tree and will make the holidays a bit cheerier for many children. There was a huge list from them – more than 150 mittens marked with a gift request - and all were claimed by the Hamilton community. All of the gifts collected will go to Hospice and are for children who have lost a parent this year. HAVOC collected 164 gifts that were on the children's wish lists. 

The Dean of Faculty's Office decided to make a donation to Operation Sunshine in lieu of spending money on a gift exchange. Their donation to Operation Sunshine was $215.

This year ITS again participated in the Holiday Project, helping a family of five. This included collecting donations to purchase gifts on the family's wish list, wrapping the gifts, assembling food baskets and delivering everything. ITS has been participating in this project for more than a decade. 

The Admission and Financial Aid Offices adopted a family of five through its Holiday Project this season. With a collective office donation, they purchased items from the family's wish list. Many Siuda staffers brought in canned and boxed food to fill two boxes, and filled another box of many other gifts--practical and fun! The Holiday Project donates a box of food to adopted families too, so, Siuda folks had a car load which was dropped off directly at the family's home. 

The President's Office is donating toys and gifts to Catholic Charities again this year. Some time ago the employees there decided to take whatever money they would have spent on each other to purchase gifts for those less fortunate. As part of this annual tradition, they pool funds, spend a few hours shopping and then deliver unwrapped gifts to Catholic Charities. The organization sorts the items with other donations and provides an opportunity for pre-screened families in need to "shop" for their loved ones. 

In Communications & Development, employees contributed more than $600 for children from families in need and for the Utica Community Food Bank. It has grown to the largest food pantry in an 11 county area, serving about 4,000 people a month. The Utica Community Food Bank is the only food pantry in the CNY region that is "client choice" -- that is, the food bank is set up like a grocery store. Each client, after getting checked in, gets a grocery cart and can pick the food they like and will eat.

Other Hamilton activities include a campus book drive being held through Dec. 20. Proceeds will benefit Prevent Child Abuse in New York. A mini Cram and Scram is asking students to leave nonperishable food items, clothing and other items in their residence hall collection bins. Items will be collected by Physical Plant and donated to the Clarks Mills Food Pantry and the Salvation Army. The Physical Plant will donate 300 pounds of canned food to the food pantry this holiday and will also match the weight of the dorm food collection from the mini scram.

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