Donations for Citations program benefits student-run food pantry

The Battalion

By Khadeeja Umana

Published Apr 24, 2019

Up to $35 can be removed from a citation based on contributions to The 12th Can Food Pantry. (Photo by Khadeeja Umana)

Donations for Citations is an annual fundraising program assembled by Transportation Services, that allows students to pay off their parking ticket while also giving back to those in need.

The three year old program allows students who received a citation, from April 15 to April 26 to donate either 10 non perishable items or five personal care items and receive up to $35 off their citation. All donations will go to A&M’s student-run food pantry, The 12th Can. The donations can be dropped off in the transportation services customer service office, room 108, in the John J. Koldus building.

Transportation services began hosting Donations for Citations in 2017, and the reaction from the community was so positive that they decided to continue the program, said transportation services communications manager Melissa Maraj.

“We offer our customers who have received citations the opportunity for them to take something that potentially may put a damper on their day or something that can be viewed as a hardship and transform it into something positive for the community,” Maraj said.

The donations do not apply if your citation was issued after April 15 or if the citation was transferred over to your student business services account, but all Aggies and Bryan-College Station residents can participate.

“During our campaign, we found that not only people who had received citations were donating, but we also received a lot of donations from people who have never received a citation and just wanted to donate to the cause,” Maraj said.

The 12th Can gives students and faculty members access to their that is usually fully stocked with personal care and food items that they can essentially browse and select as they would at a store, kinesiology senior and The 12th Can Director Megan Ford said.

The donations end up in The 12th Can food pantry, which generally opens twice a month during the school year and once a month over the summer. Their facility is stocked with personal care and food items that students, faculty and staff can essentially browse and select as they would at a store, said kinesiology senior and 12th Can director Megan Ford.

“We are very grateful that Transportation services began this program and allowed students to pay portions of their parking citations by giving back to the students, faculty and staff of Texas A&M,” Ford said. “We’ve had people reach out to us and express how the donations make them feel like they’re doing something so much bigger than just paying off a parking ticket.”

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