National Student Partnership Chapter to Stage Concert to Fund Thanksgiving Dinners for Local Families
October 20, 2004
National Student Partnership-Richmond will stage a benefit concert by four a capella groups to raise funds and purchase Thanksgiving dinners for metro Richmond residents who might not be able to afford one Nov. 18, 7 p.m., at Cannon Memorial Chapel on campus.
Admission is $3 for students, $6 for adults and free for both children under 12 and anyone who donates at least three cans of food at the door.
Last year's concert raised more than $1,000 for turkey dinners and collected 120 pounds of food for the Central Virginia Food Bank.
Before this year's show, Verizon will present the local NSP chapter, comprised of University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University students, with a grant of $23,000. The co-founder and CEO of NSP national, executive director of Richmond Workforce Investment Board, staff of the Richmond Career Advancement Center and representatives of other community service agencies will participate in the ceremony.
"We want to be able to provide every client we work with and their families a full Thanksgiving dinner," said NSP-Richmond volunteer Katie Frucella. "So many of the people we work with are bound and determined not to take handouts."
"They don't collect welfare, and they don't understand why we would want to feed their families for Thanksgiving. It makes our argument a little easier when we can tell them that every client gets a Thanksgiving dinner."
NSP's mission is to ensure that all Americans have access to the services, opportunities and attention they need in their pursuit of employment, self-sufficiency and personal success. It seeks to build a national movement of students grounded in direct action and committed to strengthening the networks of community support.
Two University of Richmond students founded NSP-Richmond in 1999. Since then, student volunteers from the two universities have staffed it.
In addition to its Richmond location, NSP operates 14 other student-managed, volunteer-run drop-in centers around the country, in Baltimore; Bronx, N.Y.; Cambridge and Somerville, Mass.; Chicago; Durham, N.C.; Evanston, Ill.; New Haven. Conn.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; San Antonio; and Washington, D.C.