As Thanksgiving is right around the corner, Virginia Tech students will have the opportunity to do their part to ensure every family in the New River Valley will have some food on their tables to celebrate the holiday.
The Marching Virginians will host the "Hokies for the Hungry" caned food drive tonight at stations around Lane Stadium. They have sponsored the event every Thursday night football game for the past 12 years and are still serving as one of the main donors to the Montgomery County Christmas Store food shelf.
"The Marching Virginians are definitely the main source of our donations," said Joan Cliff, a coordinator for the MCCS food department, "We have a few schools in the county that donate and the Greek organizations will sometimes hold collections, but this definitely brings in the most."
The MCCS has been in operation since 1982 and served more than 1,316 families last year, said Merilyn Armstrong, a coordinator for the MCCS.
"It is for residents of Montgomery County," Armstrong said. "They must fill out an application to be eligible for the Christmas Store. They are then given a date and time to come and shop."
With the sheer amount of families in need in Montgomery County during the holiday season, the MVs are looking to help out anyway they can.
"It's not often that we can get out there and help the community. Especially with the economy the way it is right now there is a huge need for donations. It's a great way to help this area, because they really do a lot for us," said Jason Christensen, a senior mechanical engineering major and the executive officer for the MVs, "This is really to help those in need, especially during the holiday season with Thanksgiving and Christmas."
The MVs will be breaking their larger band into eight separate pep bands on game day and positioning themselves in major tailgate areas to encourage fans to donate their cans and spare change.
"We accept both cash and canned food," Christensen said, "They will mostly be in parking lots playing for different people."
The drop off points for donations will be located in the Chicken Hill lot, the Litton-Reaves lot, the South End zone, the parking lot of the police station, the Cassel Coliseum lot, the Duckpond lot, at the MV practice field located at the Miller Johnson track across from the stadium and at all four corners of Lane Stadium.
"We are always in need of money donations, but it goes into the general fund of the Christmas Store, but the money donations don't necessarily help the food department," Cliff said. "The money helps the Christmas Store, though."
Christmas Store is in desperate need of canned vegetables, fruit, soup, tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, beans and canned pasta.
"We give every family one of each of them (items listed above), and then they are allowed to go through the store and select what they need, but we make sure that each family have what they need," Cliff said.
The Store is open for five days a year, and is still looking for volunteers; those interested can help by visiting its Web site at www.mcchristmasstore.org for more information.