North Texas Giving Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
STEPHENVILLE, Texas —The Tarleton State University Fort Worth food pantry is a beneficiary of this year’s North Texas Giving Day set Thursday, Sept. 20.
The largest community-wide giving opportunity in the United States, North Texas Giving Day is an 18-hour online event created in 2008 to empower benefactors to support their community through local nonprofits and causes.
Dr. Rebecca Putman, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in Tarleton’s College of Education, was the driving force behind adding the food pantry to Tarleton’s Fort Worth location.
“I started hearing stories from students about how their basic needs were not being met,” she said. “After I heard a few of those stories, I started observing. I saw students going to the vending machines for lunch and dinner or skipping meals altogether. They were making tough financial decisions after paying for tuition and books.”
More than a third of college students don’t always have enough to eat and many lack stable housing. These burdens undermine their ability to do well in school. Their grades suffer, their test scores are lower, and overall, their chances of graduating are slimmer, Putman explained.
Tarleton’s Fort Worth pantry opened in April and features high nutrition, single-serve foods for heating and consumption on campus. Each student meal, lunch or dinner consists of a high-protein food, a fruit and a snack.
North Texas Giving Day contributions will be used to purchase food and supplies for the pantry. Every $3 donated provides a meal for a student. A gift of $15 gives one student five meals.
To donate, visit www.northtexasgivingday.org/tarleton-state-university between 6 a.m. and midnight Sept. 20. Donations can be scheduled now through Wednesday, Sept. 19, and will be processed on the morning of North Texas Giving Day.
In 2017, $39 million was raised through more than 137,000 North Texas Giving Day gifts, benefiting 2,723 area non-profits and bringing the nine-year total to $195 million.
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
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Contact: Phil Riddle, News & Information Specialist
817-484-4415
[email protected]
