Colorado State University Electrical Engineering Students Deliver Thanksgiving Meals to 97 Area Families

Note to Editors: Photo opportunities include students packing dinner supplies and delivering them to needy families and to the Northern Colorado AIDS Project. To arrange interviews or photos with students, contact Nancy Farrell at (970) 491-1033. Students will meet at 630 South Taft Hill Road in Fort Collins at 10 a.m. Nov. 21, and again at 9 a.m. Nov. 24 to pack meal supplies. Deliveries to needy families will begin from the same location at 11 a.m. Nov. 24. Students will deliver meals to pre-designated families only, and are not able to respond to other requests for meals.

Students from Colorado State University’s electrical engineering department will continue a holiday tradition by using part of their Thanksgiving break to supply meals to needy families.

For the past 12 years, student members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical engineering honor society, have provided more than 1,100 Thanksgiving meals to Fort Collins families, including about 12,000 pounds of turkey; 6,000 pounds of apples; 11,500 pounds of potatoes; 1,100 boxes of stuffing; 6,000 cans of vegetables, yams and cranberry sauce; 13,000 dinner rolls; and 2,500 pumpkin pies. More than 300 students have participated in the annual drive throughout the years.

This year, Catholic Community Service, Salvation Army and Northern Colorado AIDS Project are providing names of 97 needy families.

Students seek donations from engineering faculty, staff, students and alumni, and raise about $2,000 per year. Steele’s Market contributes each year by providing all of the supplies at cost.