 Pictured left to right are Darcy Coffta, Lise Bargardo, Sarah Hamlyn, Sandy Ayer, and Andrea Ange, who all work in Technical Services at Dimond Library. (Ken Gagnon photo) Dimond Library food drive is a success By Ken Gagnon, Media Relations Hidden away in the corner of the first floor of the Dimond library, the Technical Services office has developed quite an interesting problem. They're running out of room for an unfamiliar commodity in the library: food. Thanks to the February food drive held in the Dimond library, the staff in Technical Services has been forced to convert an entire section of their offices to what now resembles a makeshift pantry. Boxes of cereal, canned goods, and even personal hygiene items have been donated at such a rate that staff members like Andrea Ange have had to stack food items wherever there's a spare space. "People are always willing to give," says Ange, packing a box of Total cereal into one of the many boxes that have been brought in to help Technical Services transport the food to local pantries in Barrington and Sanford. "What makes this all the more impressive," she says, "is that it's all done in house. These donations are all from the library staff." Many of the impressive amount of donations the library was able to collect came as a result of the Have A Heart party, which Technical Services hosted in February. Those who brought donations could be entered into a raffle to win prizes. "It was a great way for everyone to do something good by offering a donation," says Technical Services worker Darcy Coffta. The Have A Heart party and the February food drive are just more instances in a long history of charitable work that has been done by the staff at the Dimond library. Workers have helped with causes that range from work with Cornucopia, the university's food pantry, to the American Cancer Society and Heifer International. This March, the Dimond library staff continues its tradition of work for charitable causes and shifts its focus to our furry friends, as the staff will work to assist the Cocheco Valley Humane Society. "We figured since it's kitty season, it'd be a good idea to do a pet food drive," explains Coffta. In March the library staff will begin accepting pet-themed donations. The drive will remain mostly in house, but staff members were quick to note that donations from anyone on campus were always welcome. "We'll take dry food, wet food, dog food, cat food, toys, anything within reason," said Ange. Please see the Humane Society’s wish list at http://www.cvhsonline.org/help/wishlist.shtml. "We have always tried to help out pantries and places that need help, and Cocheco Valley Humane Society needs help," explains library associate Ann Cloutier. "Plus, we're all pet lovers around here, so we just want to do what we can." It's fairly obvious to see that Cloutier and the rest of the staff in Technical Services - and the rest of the library, as well - work very hard to donate as much as they can and genuinely enjoy what they are able to contribute. Cloutier is quick to defer credit for the work that is done, though. "Barry Hennessy, the head of Technical Services, really deserves a lot of the credit for this," Cloutier explains. "He encourages all of the food drives and the work that we've done, and just generally puts up with all of our hare-brained schemes," she jokes. Since the charitable work done by the library staff is so widespread, it's impossible to give the credit to just one person. One thing is clear, though: if the pet food drive put together by the library is a hare-brained scheme, it's certainly one that the no one will have a problem going along with. Especially our furry friends. |
Submit your FYIs to campus.journal@ unh.edu. |