Miami students drop off canned goods outside Wal-Mart as part of the Gravy Days' effort to collect food for the Family Resource Center.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, some students are getting involved in what they hope will become the largest independent philanthropy Miami University's campus has ever seen.
Five students joined together to make a difference in the Oxford community this holiday season, starting the project they call "Gravy Days."
As part of the project, he team has already collected more than $500 in canned goods for local families, which were donated to the Family Resource Center, an organization that assists needy families in Oxford.
According to Mary Jo Clark, administrator of the Family Resource Center, these students' efforts have contributed greatly to the center's large food distribution operation.
"We are very grateful for that donation because we distribute 210 food boxes a month to families in the Talawanda School District," Clark said. "This number has increased by 29 percent since last year. We are going through food like crazy."
According to Miami junior Ashley Alexof, one of the students behind the philanthropy, Gravy Days evolved from what began as a class project.
"Gravy Days started out as a project for our entrepreneurship class where our group was trying to think up something creative to do," Alexof said.
Jay Kayne, Miami professor of the entrepreneurship class, said he is excited by how these students have chosen to go about the project.
"This team has truly embraced the objectives of our Imagination and Entrepreneurship course by applying the concepts we have discussed throughout the semester to make a real difference in the Oxford community," Kayne said.
Alexof expressed the excitement she felt when she realized their donations had doubled what the center already had.
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"After seeing how our donations have directly impacted families in this community, we're no longer seeing Gravy Days as a project, but a way to give back to the community this holiday season," Alexof said.
When Alexof and her teammates junior Angie Irion, and seniors Andy Mitchelides, Paul Boulus and Teddy Biros were asked to design a creative midterm project for their entrepreneurship class, they accepted the challenge and took it a step further by creating Gravy Days.
"I take pride in all my projects at school; however I have never put as much effort into a school project as I have into Gravy Days," Biros said. "I find this cause to be so important that I don't really care about the grade we get on it."
They hope to continue this philanthropy event and make it a tradition on campus.
In addition to collecting canned food, the student organizers have also arranged "Get Basted for a Good Cause," the main Gravy Days event, which will be held at Stadium Bar & Grille at 9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20.
The cost to attend will be $2 for students 21 years of age and older and $4 for those underage.
Matt Hughes, owner of Stadium, is supporting this student-led philanthropy by donating all proceeds from the cover charge to the Family Resource Center in order to provide local families in need with food for the holiday season.
"It's important for people to realize how many people need assistance during the holidays and it's important to give back to the community," Hughes said.
The event will feature live music by Josh Holthus and Matt Rank of the Rum Runners, Thanksgiving drink specials and a raffle of prizes. Pumpkin pie eating contests and turkey calling competitions will also be held.
Mitchelides, one of the organizers, said participating in Gravy Days is a way for students to demonstrate their compassion.
"It's a great opportunity for the student body to give back to the local community," Mitchelides said. "It's events like this that prove that Miami students actually do care about other people than themselves, proving the stereotype wrong."
Students are getting involved by making small donations from spare change, buying Gravy Days T-shirts and decorating turkey handprints that will adorn Stadium for the event.
Students are encouraged to visit the Facebook.com event page "Gravy Days" to join more than 300 of their friends and fellow classmates in supporting the first Gravy Days philanthropy event to benefit local families.
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