Michigan college holds food drive, to feed their faculty
Faculty members at Kalamazoo Valley Community College are gathering nonperishable food items, gift cards, and cash donations in one of the lounges on the campus. But the collection isn't for a local charity; it's for their colleagues.
The college's part-time employees will not receive their first checks of the year until February 1, and many are struggling to make ends meet until then. Classes for the spring term began on January 7, and full-time faculty members were paid on January 15.
Kelly O'Leary, a part-time instructor and co-president of the college's Federation of Teachers, a union that represents part-time workers, helped organize the drive for her struggling co-workers.
"People let us know they were in dire trouble," she said.
When the drive began last week, they first distributed aid to employees who had the greatest needs. "There was someone who has diabetes and won't get through the month without insulin," she said. "She got a gift card."
