The Mail Services food drive yielded a record haul just in time for Thanksgiving. Now we are having another food drive to help with the rest of the holidays.

This one is run by Campus Recreation and Unions, to benefit The Pantry, the campus food bank, and the Food Bank of Yolo County. The Pantry opened last year to assist students who may be skipping meals for financial reasons.

Campus Rec has been running a holiday food drive since 2009. This year, it becomes the Campus Rec and Unions Food Drive, reflecting the merger of the units.

The drive runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16. Donation bins will be located at the Activities and Recreation Center, Craft Center (South Silo), Equestrian Center, Outdoor Adventures and the Student Community Center, and at two places in the Memorial Union: the Games Area (downstairs, under the bookstore) and the Guest Services Desk (east wing, first floor).

When deciding where to drop off your donations, keep in mind this special offer in the Games Area: for every item you donate, you can spin a prize wheel for a chance to win game tokens, bowling lane rentals, table time, coupons and more.

Acceptable donations include canned foods (stew, chili, soup, beans, vegetables), tuna and canned meat, peanut butter, low-sugar cereals, 100 percent fruit juices and canned fruit packaged in juice. Perishable or frozen foods and items in glass will not be accepted.

Other campus efforts are under way on behalf of Toys for Tots and Coats for Kids, and let's not forget our friends on the East Coast, or our four-legged friends:

Toys for Tots

Co-sponsored by Staff Assembly, Materiel Management and the Yolo County Marine Detachment, this drive is asking for new and unwrapped gifts for children from infant to age 14. Donations are welcome through Dec. 15 in bins around the campus. The Toys for Tots flier lists the drop-off sites.

For more information, contact Pam Nardinelli, Staff Assembly coordinator, (530) 752-0988 or pnardinelli@ucdavis.edu.

Coats for Kids

Sacramento television station News 10 runs Coats for Kids annually, and UC Davis staff member Janet Tillinghast and the campus Police Department are helping out — by setting up collection bins at the Bargain Barn and police headquarters on the main campus, and Mail Services at the Hopkins Services Complex on the west campus.

Hurricane Sandy

On the other side of the country, the American Red Cross continues to focus on reaching as many people as possible who need help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Donations to help the Red Cross do its work can be made online.

Holiday baskets for pets

Volunteers at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital assemble these baskets annually for clients of the UC Davis-sponsored Mercer clinic, which provides care for the pets of homeless people in Sacramento.

Organizers said they aim to prepare 130 holiday-wrapped boxes filled with toys, treats, leashes, food and pet care products.

Pet supply companies provide the food and some of the other items, and the organizers are asking for monetary contributions to pay for toys and treats, as well as to help with clinic supplies and operational costs.

Checks should be made payable to "UC Regents-Mercer Holiday Pet Baskets" and sent to the School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of the Dean, P.O. Box 1167, Davis 95617-1167, attention Mercer Holiday Pet Baskets.

Read the news release.

Pet project for sick children

The Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association announced a dunk tank event — and guess who's going to get wet — as part of the chapter's effort to raise money to buy golden retrievers for hospitalized children. These retrievers are stuffed animals — they go by the name Josh and they are from Josh and Friends.

Veterinary students plan to buy gift kits — each with a Josh dog and a book titled I'll Be OK — to give to children in the UC Davis Children's Hospital. Also, for every kit sold, Josh and Friends will make a donation to the Children's Miracle Network.

If the students raise $1,500 by Friday, Nov. 30, Dean Michael Lairmore and professors Rance LeFebvre and Stanley Marks have agreed to take turns sitting in the dunk tank — at 5 p.m. that day.

More information is available online; the website include a button for online donations and a mailing address for checks.

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