The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: donations

  • Students help each other with J Points

    Students help each other with J Points

    Humboldt State student Austin Sani marches into the College Creek Marketplace with his friends and intends to do some damage. Sani has almost 2,000 J Points and he wants to buy as many items as possible for himself and his friends, because he is trying not to let his meal plan go to waste.

    “I wish I had known there was a way for me to donate these points to help other students,” Sani said. “I definitely would have done that.”

    Sani was not aware of the J Point donation program that started back in 2009. This was an opportunity for students who found themselves with extra points at the end of the semester. They were able to donate their points to be used to buy food for the Oh SNAP! food pantry on campus.

    This year, the program has been revamped by Oh SNAP!, with the help of a $77,000 grant from the California State University. This grant is part of a system-wide initiative to better address the basic needs of students across the state.

    Students will now be able to donate their points to be used by other students wherever J-points are accepted.

    “The donated points will be put into a pot that faculty and administration will be able to give out to students in $30 increments,” Raven Craig, a peer health educator for HSU’s Health and Wellness Services, said.

    Craig runs Oh SNAP!, and has a very critical role in making sure the donation program runs smoothly on campus.

    “People have been asking for something like this for years, so I am very pleased that we are able to make it happen,” Craig said.

    Students are able to visit the pantry or The J cafeteria to donate points. Already, $2,500 in points have been collected from donations and aid from the grant.

    Oh SNAP! has been collecting donations this week from students who have an excess amount of points.

    “I think this is a great program, and Dining Services really supports it,” Ron Rudebock, the Director of Dining Services at HSU, said. “It is really great to see students getting help, as well as seeing students donate to help their peers.”

     

  • Valentine’s Day gifts for a good cause

    Valentine’s Day gifts for a good cause

    Anyone stressed about Valentine’s Day has a last-minute chance this weekend to find that perfect something for that perfect someone while supporting a good cause. The Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be holding Hearts Together, a Valentine’s Day-themed event and auction from 4 to 8 p.m on Feb. 10.

    Event coordinator Edie Jessup says all the funds raised from this event will go towards Humboldt Unitarian, a congregation that is dedicated to helping others.

    “We do a lot of community work,” Jessup said. “We’re very social justice-oriented. ”

    Humboldt Unitarian donates to one local non-profit each month. These have included Food for People, Planned Parenthood, Humboldt Edge, Betty Chinn and Arcata House. In addition to their help with non-profits, the Fellowship is also a sanctuary congregation.

    “We are available for families in threat of deportation,” Jessup said. “Because we are a church, police are less likely to interfere.”

    Front entrance of Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Bayside, Feb. 7. Humboldt UU Fellowship is hosting their annual auction fundraiser on Feb. 10 from 4-8 p.m. Photo by Matthew Hable.

    For a suggested donation of $10, attendees can help and have a good time.

    The price includes all-you-can eat soup, bread and dessert. In addition, there will be beer and wine available for purchase, a Valentine’s gift store and both a silent and live auction. This is the first year the event will feature a live auction, hosted by local actor, Mack Owen.

    All of the items were donated by local businesses or individuals and will include dinners, nature outings, collectable items, classes, art and more.

    Free childcare services are offered during the event for those who reserve ahead of time.

    Jessup says they try to keep this event affordable so that all members of the community, including families and students, can attend.

    “We’re really welcome to HSU students,” Jessup said. “This might be fun for them.”

    For more information, contact Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (707) 822-3793 or by email office@huuf.org

    Or visit the event Facebook page for Hearts Together Auction

    Childcare can be reserved with Jen at jkw23@humboldt.edu or (707) 668-1848

  • HSU Athletics donates to Hurricane Harvey victims

    HSU Athletics donates to Hurricane Harvey victims

    By Keaundrey Clark

    Hurricane Harvey has made its mark on the lives of Houston-area residents and the Humboldt State Athletic Department is lending a hand in the relief efforts.

    Lumberjack coaches and staff have coordinated together and are donating clothes and other gear that was sent to Houston and those in need. The donations are being sent to the University of Houston where basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson is leading an effort to help those affected by the hurricane.

    KSHouston_Web-1.jpg
    HSU Softball team sending donations to the University of Houston. | Photo by Shelli Sarchett

    “It’s awesome to know that our program is willing to do something to help,” said freshman softball player, Megan Graeser. “We try to do as much as we can in our community, but it’s a wonderful thing that we are capable of making a difference in other places too.”

    Softball head coach, Shelli Sarchett, got the ball rolling on the project. After viewing a tweet from Sampson asking for donations of clothing or shoes by all NCAA programs. Having never even been to Houston. Sarchett knew it was the right thing to do.

    “It doesn’t matter who they are, or the fact I’ve never met them,” said Sarchett. “Just knowing we can help people, it just says a lot about human nature.”

    As a coaching staff they decided that the extra clothing they had a good start. After asking both basketball programs, football and other athletic programs at HSU for their extras the whole athletic department was involved.

    KSHouston_Web-2.jpg
    HSU Softball team sending donations to the University of Houston. | Photo by Shelli Sarchett
    “It is great knowing that we as a community can help those in need,” said senior, Breonna Bejaran. “And that in today’s connected world our reach is endless.”

    Despite the distance, the HSU athletics department providing hope for those in need in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Shows the human spirit and the ability to help those when times are dire.

    “When other americans are in need It’s nice knowing when things go wrong people are there to help,” said Sarchett.

  • KHSU public radio faces possible defunding

    KHSU public radio faces possible defunding

    By Curran Daly

    Humboldt State’s radio station, KHSU, is facing a 16 percent funding decrease under Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 Budget Outline.

    KHSU has an annual operating budget of just over a million dollars. In 2016, KHSU received $175,061 in grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. CPB is the largest source of funding for public radio. With the complete defunding of the CPB, KHSU would have to look elsewhere for funding.

    Peter Fretwell, KHSU’s new general manager, was attracted to the position as general manager at KHSU due to it’s large community involvement.

    “KHSU is near the top, if not the top of the most listened to stations in Humboldt county,” Fretwell said. “In my experience community involvement is important and I was attracted to Humboldt county and KHSU because of the deep community engagement.”

    KHSU is a noncommercial, public radio station, supported by Humboldt State University. KHSU is largely community based on and acts to provide intellectual perspectives on local and national issues.

    KHSU receives a large amount of their funding from donations from the community. In 2016 $336,289 was donated in listener support. It is this kind of support from the community that will be able to maintain KHSU’s ability to broadcast.

    KHSU is a vital resource for the community. Humboldt is relatively cut off from the world and in the face of potential natural disaster, public radio would be vital for public service.

    The recent budget outline, released on March 16, called for a complete cut to CPB funding. Similar stations with similar communal obligations all around the country face these cuts as well. Patricia Harrison, CPB’s president and CEO, outlined the importance of public media in a statement made after the budget outline was released.

    “The elimination of federal funding to CPB would initially devastate, and ultimately destroy public media’s role in early childhood education, public safety, connecting citizens to our history, and promoting civil discussions,” Harrison said.

    Fretwell has seen proposed cuts to CPB before and believes that, as before, the CPB will be able to retain its funding.