UA food pantry to be recognized at White House Thursday

FAYETTEVILLE – The student-run Full Circle Campus Food Pantry did not win the White House Campus Champions of Change Challenge — they came in second — but they’re going to the White House all the same and will be honored in every way the winner is.

Student volunteers Sylvia Tran of Fort Smith, Julia Lyon of Morrilton, Rachael Pellegrino of Hot Springs and Mirelle Pierini of Maumelle are headed to Washington, D.C., for an event to honor the challenge’s five winners and 10 runners-up. Lyon is chairman of the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry. Angela Oxford, director for the center for community engagement, is making the trip with the students.

The challenge is a competition among college students tackling important issues such as homelessness, hunger and sustainability concerns, among others. Winners were determined over eight days of online voting with only three votes allowed from any one email account. UA students and alumni lobbied hard for votes, eliciting help from supporters nationwide.

But when the competition ended March 3, the University of Massachusetts’ Amherst Permaculture Initiative had received 59,852 votes, just 2,723 more than the Full Circle Food Pantry’s 57,112. The third-place winner received about half of Full Circle’s final vote count.

On Thursday, the UA student-staff delegation will be given a tour of the White House and visit with U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor before taking part in a public ceremony and panel discussion. The ceremony and panel can be seen live on the White House website at 1:50 p.m. Thursday. It is uncertain whether President Barack Obama will attend.

The group will be sharing their experiences on Twitter using @UAVAC and @uafullcircle and on the Full Circle campus food pantry Facebook site. They will also be blogging and posting information and photos on the Volunteer Action Center Blog.

Those with more imagination will want to look for a small Razorback the students are using as they document their adventures in Washington, as well as a duplicate of the Fulbright statue, that will be tweeting as though he is on the trip, as well.

The entourage will also be visiting UA Board of Trustees member and former U.S. Sen. David Pryor and will present him with a Razorback hat in appreciation for all the tweeting he did for Full Circle during the campaign.

The pantry opened a little more than a year ago by students involved with the university’s Volunteer Action Center. Their goal was to provide a dignified and discreet way for any member of the university community to get the food they need. More than 2,500 people were served in the first year.

The Champions of Change program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, a different sector is highlighted and groups of Champions, ranging from educators to entrepreneurs to community leaders, are recognized for the work they are doing to serve and strengthen their communities.
In addition to being invited to the White House, the top five winners will be featured by mtvU and MTV Act and be given the opportunity to host an episode of mtvU’s signature program, The Dean’s List.
 
More information on the five winners in the White House’s Campus Champions of Change Challenge can be found here.