Cascadia Community College held a food drive that ended Nov. 20 to help the Seattle Milk Fund and Kiwanis Club with their annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive. Students from Cascadia’s English as a Second Language (ESL) classes organized the drive on campus.
“The ESL students wanted to get more involved with the community and the campus. They are very excited and enthusiastic to be helping out people in need,” said senior associate faculty Leah Schubert.
The food items that were collected were included in baskets given to families with children in the greater Seattle area. The Seattle Milk Fund has been holding the Thanksgiving Basket Drive for over 60 years.
Schubert also used the drive as a learning tool for her ESL classes. Lesson plans included vocabulary exercises about the donated food and learning about Thanksgiving.
“We’re trying to get our students to take what they learn in the classroom and use it in their communities and this helps. The food drive makes the learning more concrete and serves a purpose outside the classroom,” said Schubert.
The food drive was one part of Cascadia’s active service-learning program, which combines classroom instruction with community service. ♦