News Release| EPIC Toy & Food Drive; Cal State L.A.

November 29, 2011

 MEDIA ADVISORY

EPIC drive delivers holiday cheer to needy families locally

Cal State L.A. holds its 40th Annual Holiday Toy and Food Drive

Los Angeles, CA – Jingling with joy, Cal State L.A. rings in the holiday season with its Annual Holiday Toy and Food Drive. Commemorating its 40-year tradition of giving, the University’s Educational Participation in the Communities (EPIC) program is now collecting donations of new and gently-used toys and non-perishable food from the University’s students and employees through Dec. 9.

The year’s drive will deliver holiday cheer to more than 70 local families in coordination with 14 non-profit community agencies in the greater Los Angeles area. Last year, about $21,040 worth of toys and food were collected, and were delivered to 205 kids and 109 adults.

EPIC, created in 1966, promotes volunteer community service by university students and creates opportunities for them to implement classroom theory in real-life situations that are beneficial to communities.

Along with its annual holiday drive, EPIC also provides youth employment training, mentoring for schoolchildren, and, through America Reads and Counts, support for literacy and mathematics education. 

For more about EPIC or to donate to its holiday drive, call (323) 343-3380 or visit www.calstatela.edu/univ/stuaffrs/epic.

Note to editors and news directors:

Photo and interview opportunities with more than 30 “Santa’s helpers” at work will be available on the CSULA campus (See schedule below). Call the Public Affairs Office at CSULA in advance at (323) 343-3050 to arrange photo sessions. 

  •          Monday, December 12

Pick up donation boxes from offices and departments throughout campus

  •          Tuesday and Wednesday, December 13-14, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sort toys and foods and pack up boxes for families (Physical Education building, room 123)

  •          Tuesday, Dec. 13

Shop for additional toys and food from monetary donations

  •          Wednesday and Thursday, December 14-15

Some agencies will pick up donations; others will be delivered   

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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 220,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to the Honors College for high-achieving students. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu