From Southwestern With Love

GEORGETOWN, Texas- Head Men's Soccer Coach Don Gregory's Paideia group organized a program to provide food to needy residents on Valentine’s Day. Nearly 400 students took part in the program, and after a matching donation by Sudexho, and support from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, over $3000 worth of food and drinks was donated to The Caring Place and the Eagle Locker.

This year, Valentine’s Day at Southwestern University was less about chocolate and roses, and more about what it means to help those who are less fortunate.

On Feb. 14, Southwestern students had the opportunity to donate a meal from their meal plan to provide food for needy people in Georgetown.

The program was organized by students in Gregory’s Paideia group in cooperation with Southwestern’s food service provider, Sodexo. Organizers called it the “One Swipe” program.

Students were asked to swipe their meal card at the Commons between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and then leave and eat somewhere else. For those without a meal plan, Pirate Buc$ were accepted, as well as cash donations. Donators could enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead thanks to Southwestern's Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Sodexo tallied the value of the meals donated and then matched each contribution, making a food contribution valued at the total amount to the Caring Place.

“The idea behind the date is to ask people to stop and think that Valentine’s Day is not just about a loved one – it is also about showing some love to perhaps one, and, sadly, many, who are unloved,” Gregory said.

Gregory’s Paideia group is organized around the theme of “Coping with Social Responsibility.”

The group has worked closely with the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), where their primary focus has been human trafficking. Through their studies as a group, they have discovered the risks of the poor and marginalized population falling into the traps of human trafficking systems. They also have learned that many people in Georgetown, including an estimated 200 students in the Georgetown ISD, are currently listed as homeless.

Members of the Coping with Social Responsibility Paideia group are Alex Barnes, Kayla Bogs, Briana Garcia, Ellen Hoyer, Rachel Nowlain, Tony Pollreisz and Evan Schmitt.

“The program we are offering is so simple, yet profoundly impacting,” Gregory said. “We might never see the kids or families who ultimately will be enjoying the extra meals. But the gesture of swiping can produce a tremendous amount of spiritual fulfillment and purpose. It is certainly an activity the entire school can feel proud to promote.”

The Paideia group along with support from men's soccer players Colin McCulloch (pictured, top photo, middle) and Forest Baker and Assistant Men's Soccer Coach Zach Pope (pictured, top photo, left) loaded truck fulls of supplies including drinks donated by Southwestern's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Group members aiding in loading the supplies were (pictured, left to right): SU Alumna and Client Services Specialist Lindsey Chapman, Ellen Hoyer, Donations Manager David Earl, Evan Schmitt, Colin McCulloch, Forest Baker and Tony Pollreisz.