"Donations for Citations” Raises Over 1,100 Pounds Of Food Donations

Texas A&M Today

By Melissa Marie Maraj

Published: April 21, 2017

1,100 pounds of donations were collected during the campaign

Texas A&M University Transportation Services held a “Donations for Citations” food drive event that offered community members the opportunity to donate food or personal care items in exchange for a credit of up to $30 towards their university parking citation. Donations were delivered today to the Brazos Valley Food Bank by representatives of the department.

In total, more than 1,100 pounds of donations were collected during the campaign and delivered to the Brazos Valley Food Bank. All donated items will be processed for redistribution to members of the community.

“The community really came together to make this event a success,” said Associate Vice President, Peter Lange, Transportation Services. “The best part of the campaign was that people were bringing in more than was required to receive the fine reduction. We even had donations from people who did not have a citation at all. That is really a great show of the community coming together for a good cause. We are looking forward to the next campaign.”

One of the coordinators of the event Therese Kucera oversaw the collection of the donations. “It was really great seeing the students bring in their donations to have their citation reduced and for this being our first campaign, the amount we collected far exceeded our expectations,” she said.

To have received up to $30 off of their parking citation, either 10 food items or five personal items had to have been donated. To assist with the collection, Transportation Services set up a pick-up station in their customer service office, located in the Koldus building, and as soon as the campaign kicked off, the donations started coming in.

“We highly value Texas A&M Transportation Services for hosting a unique and beneficial food drive for [Brazos Valley Food Bank]. We are able to provide meals to our hungry neighbors in need with this generous donation. Thank you so much,” said Rhonda Behrens, distribution manager.

Texas A&M community feedback about the “Donations for Citations” campaign was also positive.

“I just wanted to commend you and your team on the ‘Donations for Citations’ idea. The ability to donate instead of paying money for parking violations communicates, to me, that transportation services is not about the money, but about keeping our campus organized and safe for parking. It sends an extremely positive message to the Texas A&M community,” said a community member in a message sent to the department.

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