Sharing winter cheer, one greeting card at a time

The holiday season can be a joyous occasion for some, but COVID-19 is making it more difficult for others.

If Pierce College had a seasonal card program to give to those in need, it would be a way to spread holiday cheer throughout the community.

The Red Cross Holidays for Heroes program provides holiday cards for members of the military, veterans and their families, and Pierce could partner with them.

The Angel Card Project sends greeting cards to those in need and Pierce students could gather in the Great Hall to volunteer their time to write messages for those who might feel forgotten. The best part of this program is that there’s no limit to how many cards can be sent out and if there’s someone you think needs one of these cards you can submit their name.

Students could also develop a holiday gram program, designing cards to sell for a local charity.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has a program called Operation Santa that pairs letters from children and their families with the public to fulfill their holiday wishes. If even one Pierce student or employee could provide a moment of cheer for someone then it would be worth it.

With the fall semester rapidly coming to a close, many of us will be taking a well-deserved break, where most of our stresses will fi nally be put behind us until the following year.

But, some within our community aren’t so fortunate. For the members of our Pierce College family who face food insecurity, the search for a healthy and consistent meal doesn’t end here.

Because of this, Pierce College should consider installing community fridges on campus.

The school’s size offers up the ability to install fridges in multiple locations. Pierce can use this as an opportunity to offer their student body a stable and consistent option for healthy and fresh food

Also, the presence of fridges on campus can raise awareness on an often forgotten issue among our community, leading to people donating food to put into those same fridges.

The size and portion of students that face food insecurity may not only be underestimated here at Pierce, but it also may be underestimated across the country.

Temple University’s “Hope For College” runs an annual survey investigating ways in which students may face challenges, such as food insecurity, throughout their academic careers.

In their 2019 survey, which included a respondent pool of ~167,000 students from more than 100 4-year colleges and more than 50 2-year colleges, it was revealed that 39% of the students who participated faced food insecurity in the 30 days leading up to the survey.

If a community fridge can even slightly help alleviate this problem among our student body, Pierce owes it to them to help alleviate this stress. Especially with pandemicinduced infl ation and supplyshortages continuing to affect all goods, including food.

A community fridge can also help bring Pierce’s community closer together.

At the University of Southern California (USC), a studentrun community fridge was put in place last year. The fridge has also gained attention from the surrounding community as “several restaurants in the L.A. area have agreed to donate food regularly to the fridge.”

The same way that the LACCD was previously able to partner with Kroger and hand students gift cards to use at their grocery stores, perhaps that partnership (and new ones) can be called upon again to gain access to produce and goods that may be otherwise disposed of.

Finally, the food provided to students from the community fridge can also be integral to providing fair equity among our student body. Research reported on an article from ScienceDaily found that many colleges "report lacking access to a reliable supply of nutritious food...which can affect their ability to learn."