About 275 Thiel College first-year students and mentors participating in inaugural food drive

Posted August 23, 2018 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Approximately 275 first-year students, faculty advisors and peer mentors at Thiel College, a leading liberal arts college in northwest Pennsylvania, will take to the streets of Greenville during Welcome Week to lead a food drive.

In 2015, 12.8 percent of Mercer County residents and 19.5 percent of children struggle with food insecurity, according to Feeding America, a national non-profit hunger relief organization. As part of a new community-service project initiative during the College’s Welcome Week, students will be dropping bags off at area homes throughout the Greenville community from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday with a list of suggested non-perishable items for the collection. Students will return to those homes to collect the filled bags from 7–8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29. Food will be sorted and donated to the Good Shepherd Food Pantry in Greenville.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for first-year students to form an interactive service collaboration with the Greenville community during their first week on campus,” Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Elizabeth Frombgen, Ph.D., said. “Thiel College’s mission is to empower students to reach their full potential through educational excellence, global awareness, ethical leadership and service to others.”

The First-Year Experience program ensures student success through a thoughtful and deliberate series of activities, events, academic advising, orientation and a first-year seminar class. While engaging in a series of activities, students explore the college experience where studies, interactions, and residential and social experiences come together to challenge how they think and to communicate differently and collaboratively as a member of a diverse community.