Food, money donations for food and lightly used children’s books will go to the local organizations Shelters of Saratoga and the Franklin Community Center.  This year’s goal is to provide a month’s worth of food for these agencies as a way for the Skidmore community to collectively give back to Saratoga.

Marie Glotzbach started this program last year with the help of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, the Student Government Association and the Benefaction club of Skidmore College.

The college’s mission of creating “responsible citizenship” in conjunction with the Liberty League Athletic Council’s food drive challenge initiated the idea of this charity event. Glotzbach and Skidmore College’s president Philip Glotzbach, her husband, wanted to make the annual holiday party at the Scribner house more meaningful.

Faculty, staff and students alike have actively participated in this event. Glotzbach appointed a “cheerleader” for each department in the school, such as administration, admissions, clubs, etc. in order to spread the word more effectively and increase school participation. Each department is assigned a type of food so that the pantry needs are met. Marie commented that, “Some groups have really gotten into the spirit of Skidmore Cares by calling themselves the Spaghetti- O’s or the Canned Tuna Team.”

In addition to these cheerleaders, Skidmore’s Student Government Association and Benefaction club have facilitated more campus awareness and participation. A Skidmore senior and the community service head for the Skidmore Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC), Sasha Diamond-Lenow, has organized athletes for two years to get involved in this program as a way to give back to the community and positively represent themselves, their teams, the athletic department, Skidmore students and the College as a whole. She believes that, “it’s an awesome program because it is aimed at all aspects of Skidmore’s campus, faculty, staff and students. It’s connecting the entire Skidmore community due to the fact that we are uniting for a common good and are showing responsible community involvement.” SAAC will be collecting cash donations for food in Skidmore’s dining hall, student residences and athletic center during the week of Dec. 3-7. Sasha exclaimed, “That’s the goal: to get every campus member aware of Skidmore Cares, the cause and then hopefully to get action by either donations cans or money.”

Last year, Skidmore Cares collected enough food to fill Saratoga Economic Opportunity Council’s pantry for three months. Glotzbach hopes to provide at least one month’s worth of food for the two organizations. This year’s committee assessed the needs of local agencies in need of food and chose the Franklin Community Center and Shelters of Saratoga. This year, kids will be more involved through the used children’s book donations. Skidmore College staff, faculty and their families will drop off their food and book donations in a sleigh that will be outside the Scriber House on 179 Broadway on Dec. 8 or 9 when they attend the Community Holiday Open House. The sleigh will be available for donations Friday, Dec. 7 for those who cannot attend.

Marie Glotzbach said, “Skidmore Cares is a wonderful opportunity for the College to be a good neighbor within the Saratoga Springs community. We hope to build on the success of last year’s effort and communicate once again that Skidmore College as a community wants to reach out to help local families in need.” This event has engaged various members of Skidmore in the efforts to help those in need. Glotzbach is confident that this event will remain successful for years to come and plans on continuing this tradition. For more information about Skidmore Cares, visit www.skidmore.edu/skidmorecares.