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SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University students are preparing for the holidays with projects that benefit the whole community.

PET FOOD DRIVE: Blackwell Library and Leash on Life remind the campus community that people are not the only beings who are homeless and hungry during its annual collection for homeless animals in area shelters in Wicomico and Somerset counties. The drive runs through Friday, December 12. A list of needed items, such as dog and cat food, and collection boxes are located by the library’s circulation desk.

HELPING THE HOMELESS: Team Problem Solvers from SU’s Small Group Communication class is collecting food and toiletries for the Joseph House Village Christian shelter. For more information e-mail cc50043@salisbury.edu.

ASSISTING THE LESS FORTUNATE: Marketing 331 classes are working with the Seton Center Catholic Charities to gather hygiene supplies, canned food and new or gently used children’s toys for local families in need. Drop-off boxes will be available throughout campus until Thursday, December 4.

DONATIONS FOR TROOPS: The Student Government Association Freshmen Committee is raising funds and collecting goods in the community to send to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. A campus DVD drive will help supplement the community collection.

SWEATER AND JACKET DRIVE: The Zeta Tau Alpha sorority is conducting a food, toy, sweater and jacket drive on campus through finals week to benefit less fortunate families.

FESTIVAL OF TREES:  The Guerrieri University Center hosts its fifth annual Festival of Trees to benefit the Joseph House and Lakeside Assisted Living. During the competition registered student organizations are invited to decorate 3-foot Christmas trees that will be given to residents served by the Joseph House and Lakeside. Student organizations may also include small gifts, toiletries and canned food to be donated with their trees. Winners are selected Friday, December 12.

ATHLETIC ASSISTANCE: The Salisbury University Athletic Training Club recently conducted its annual canned food drive, donating over 1,000 cans and 11 turkeys to the local Joseph House. SU's 21 varsity teams competed against each other in donating canned goods. The women's basketball team won the competition for raising food per capita. The football team donated the most cans as a group with 450.

BOOK ‘EM: Students in Paula Morris’ promotions classes and Howard Dover’s sales and marketing class recently sent a handful of local community members to “jail”… for a good cause. The classes teamed up to host a “Jail and Bail” fundraiser for the Kids of Honor youth mentoring program. The “jailbirds” raised more than $7,000 by calling friends and family to contribute to their “bail.”

FOOD BASKETS: The Public Relations Student Society of America was among the campus offices and organizations recently participating in the "Everything but the Turkey" Thanksgiving basket food drive sponsored by the Student Activities Office. The organization filled a laundry basket to the brim with non-perishable food items for a family Thanksgiving meal.

ANIMAL TREE:  Leash On Life recently hosted a fundraiser at PetSmart, selling homemade dog treats and offering face painting, paw printing and gift wrapping in exchange for donations. In addition, the organization decorated a Christmas tree at the store with pictures of dogs and cats from the Wicomico Humane Society, encouraging patrons to place a pet-related gift under the tree to benefit the society.

CHRISTMAS PARADE:  Students from Colleges Against Cancer and SU's Alpha Alpha Delta chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity will serve as volunteer drivers during the 62nd annual Salisbury Christmas Parade. The student volunteers will chauffer local city and county elected officials through the parade route on Sunday, December 7.

CHILDREN'S SHOPPING TOUR:  Students from the Honors Student Society, Medical Careers Club, Girls on Top of the World and other organizations have volunteered as chaperones for the Salisbury Jaycees' annual Children's Christmas Shopping Tour. They will be among dozens of community volunteers taking more than 200 less fortunate children holiday shopping during this year's event.

BREAST CANCER TREE:  SU's chapter of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority is sponsoring a special Christmas tree in the lobby of the Commons, allowing members of the ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõcommunity to honor breast cancer patients by hanging pink ribbon ornaments with those patients' names on the tree. The sorority is also collecting Yoplait yogurt lids to help raise money for breast cancer research.

CANNED FOOD DRIVE:  Students in Paula Morris' marketing and promotions class recently partnered with the Maryland Food Bank to host a canned food drive on campus. The class collected 126 pounds of canned goods, enough to provide an estimated 136 meals for less fortunate families.

WARMTH FOR THE WINTER:  ShoreCorps/Partnership for Adolescents on the Lower Shore (PALS) and Salisbury's Promise assisted the Hope And Life Outreach (HALO) Organization with its Operation Warm-Up program as part of its Homeless "Code Blue" initiative. Students collected coats, sweaters, gloves, and hats for all ages to contribute the program.

SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT:  This semester six students in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business have worked with the Small Business Development Center to conduct extensive research to help Asbury United Methodist Church become more environmentally friendly. The students explored ways the church may lessen its environmental impact, including constructing a “green” parking lot, utilizing rainwater, lowering energy consumption, making the building more energy efficient and recycling efforts.

TOYS FOR TOTS:  SU's Sophanes theatre club and Bound and Gagged improvisation troupe collected donations for Toys for Tots during its annual holiday show, "Stocking Stuffers."

PACE YOUR RACE:  Students in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business hosted the "Pace Your Race" 5K Walk/Run to benefit Dove Pointe, a local non-profit organization providing services to persons with disabilities.

SHOEBOX PRESENT DRIVE:  Salisbury University student-athletes got in the holiday spirit as they participated in a shoebox present drive. The drive was run by the ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒõStudent-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was very successful as over 75 shoeboxes full of food, games and educational materials were collected for less fortunate children in the Salisbury area. Salisbury's 21 varsity athletic teams gathered items for the drive. The program was run in conjunction with Delmar Elementary School. The shoeboxes will be passed out to underprivileged children in Maryland and Delaware.

For information on these and other holiday philanthropic programs at ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõcall 410-543-6030.  Or for updates, visit the ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒõWeb site at www.salisbury.edu.