Chartwells and Healthy Huskies hosted the event in the Atwood Memorial Center main lounge to benefit the Salvation Army emergency shelter.
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“General Mills and Ellen DeGeneres came together to create the One Million Acts of Good Campaign, a campaign that was designed to do one simple thing. Fill the world with good,” said Laura Wacker-Hansen, Chartwells marketing director and registered dietitian nutritionist. “After launching the campaign, General Mills and Ellen asked Chartwells to help create events that provided opportunities for doing good in communities all over the U.S.”
Healthy Huskies, a student organization dedicated to building a healthy and happy campus, joined in to help facilitate the event. The event was a partnership with Chartwells/St. Cloud State Dining, General Mills, The Ellen Show and Matter, a Minnesota-based non-profit that is reducing barriers to healthier lives, worldwide.
“Helping others makes us feel good, but often the time commitment bogs people down. A brief event like this helps build community toward a common goal,” said Erica Karger-Gatzow, St. Cloud State assistant director for health promotion and marketing. “It was great to have so many students and employees take time out of their day to work together in a selfless way.”
Healthy Huskies members we’re encouraged to see people from across campus participate.
“It was cool to see a lot of people from various backgrounds step up and help out even if they didn’t have a lot of time. I really enjoyed it,” said Alex Unger, community health major and Healthy Huskies intern.
Students and employees packed healthy, shelf-stable snacks for St. Cloud Salvation Army’s emergency food shelf.
With a huge volunteer turn out, 300 boxes in were packed in less than an hour,” said Wacker-Hansen.
The boxes were packed with Cheerios, applesauce pouches, and granola bars — along with a handwritten, motivational note from a student and an educational nutrition insert. The boxes were then delivered to the Salvation Army Emergency Shelter and will be be distributed to those in need in the St. Cloud community.
“It was nice to work with a lot of other people that were friendly and willing to work together for a common goal. I enjoyed it and others seemed to be having fun too.” said Omar Ibrahim, a community health major and Healthy Huskies intern.
Wacker-Hansen agreed.
“Chartwells is looking forward to continuing to bring programs like this one to campus,” she said. “This was our first collaboration with Healthy Huskies, and we are looking forward to continuing to collaborate in the future.”
