Confederation College staff, students raise funds for campus food bank, United Way

An annual fundraising campaign by staff and students at Confederation College in Thunder Bayhas given a key student program a financial boost.

The Stock the Bank campaign which ran from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2 brought in more than $19,000 for the college's emergency student food bank, said Dana Levanto, manager of advancement and alumni.

"You think about coming and doing your post-secondary education, and you think about expenses such as tuition and books," she said. "But many of our students are coming in from out of town, so of course they have their rent, their housing, gas."

"Groceries very often are the very last thing on the list that are left to buy, because it's not a set expense," Levanto said. "We don't want any of our students to go hungry."

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Last year, more than 200 students made use of the college's emergency food bank, which has been operating for 20 years, she said.

The college's annual internal fundraising campaign isn't only geared toward the food bank, however.

Levanto said it also raised about $15,000 for the United Way, and about $20,000 for student bursaries and awards.

Altogether, more than $55,000 was raised, which is a record for the campaign, Levanto said.

"We're really grateful that our employees are opening up their wallets and their heartstrings to support our students," she said.