Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and university presidents Ed Ayers, Ángel Cabrera, John Broderick and Teresa Sullivan today marked the official launch of the Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic Food Drive to benefit Virginia food banks.
The four university presidents from the schools competing in this year’s Holiday Hoops Classic enthusiastically agreed to join Governor McDonnell to co-chair the food drive. The non-profit Federation of Virginia Food Banks is the official Cause of the Classic, and together with co-chairs, encourages citizens and fans to support their favorite university by supporting their local food bank.
During the holidays, Virginians regularly take time to lend some help to those who are less fortunate. As part of that Virginia tradition, Governor McDonnell chose to partner with the Federation of Virginia Food Banks to support a state and regional food drive to benefit those in need.
“The 2012 Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic will be one of many fun and exciting events for Virginians this holiday season. Unfortunately, not every Virginian is able to fully enjoy this time of the year because of concerns about how they will feed their families,” Governor McDonnell said. “That’s why I’m pleased to have the university presidents join me as-co-chairs of the Cause of the Classic. The Federation of Virginia Food Banks is a vitally important organization that helps people in need put food on their tables. I encourage you to participate in this food drive and support your local food banks that provide critical assistance in every corner of Virginia for our most needy families. This is a great opportunity for Virginians to support their favorite team by supporting this important cause.”
“We are excited about the prospect of bringing our universities together to compete and to cooperate for such a good cause,” said University of Richmond President Ed Ayers.
“The Old Dominion University community has a proud history of community engagement, volunteerism, and service to others. So we are honored and excited to be a part of Governor McDonnell’s Holiday Hoops Classic,” said President John R. Broderick. “Students, faculty, staff and friends of Old Dominion are geared up for the friendly rivalry with our higher education colleagues, but more importantly for the good cause toward which we’ll all be working.”
President of George Mason University, Ángel Cabrera remarked, “The George Mason University community is excited to be involved in the governor’s initiative to support the Virginia Food Banks. It provides an opportunity for our faculty, staff and students to join together for an important cause while engaging in friendly competition with other Virginia schools. Mason applauds the efforts of Governor McDonnell’s program and providing the chance for Virginia universities to unite in giving to those less fortunate.”
“During the holiday season, we want to reach out to those who are in need of assistance,” said UVa President Teresa Sullivan. “The food drive gives us a great opportunity to help our friends and neighbors, while the Holiday Hoops Classic lets us enjoy some good basketball at the same time. I’m grateful to Governor McDonnell for leading this effort.”
This year the University of Richmond, George Mason University, University of Virginia and Old Dominion University are facing off on the court and Virginians can show their support for their favorite team in the classic by supporting the Cause of the Classic. All students, faculty, staff and fans are encouraged to consider making a food or financial donation and designate one of the four participating universities to get the credit for that donation.
Virginians are encouraged to make donations, here: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/governorsClassic/
At the end of the food drive, Virginia’s food banks will tally up the food and funds received, and the winners for each matchup will be announced on Dec. 22. Virginians can donate on campus or online to support their institutions bid to raise the most food in support of the Federation of Virginia Food Banks.
The Federation of Virginia Food Banks is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit state association of food banks affiliated with Feeding America. Composed of the seven regional Virginia/Washington DC food banks, the Federation supports the food banks in providing food, funding, education, advocacy and awareness services and programs throughout the Commonwealth. The Federation is the largest hunger-relief network in the state, serving over 1,012,500 Virginians last year. Last year, the Federation of Virginia Food Banks distributed over 108 million pounds of food and grocery product.
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