As Lake-Sumter State College hosts its Third Annual Lakehawk Service Day on Friday, Oct. 22, members of the local community are invited to the Leesburg Campus for a drive-through food pantry.
Food distribution will begin at 9:30 am on Friday, Oct. 22, and individuals are asked not to arrive or begin lining up before 9 a.m. Food packages will offer pantry staples, fresh dairy, meat, and produce.
Students and families in the community participating should enter campus at College Drive from U.S. Hwy. 441. The address of the Leesburg Campus is 9501 U.S. Hwy. 441, Leesburg, 34788.
“We know that food insecurity is a significant issue for many of our students and other families in our communities,” said Dr. Laura Byrd, Sr. Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the LSSC Foundation. “The pandemic has made these issues more urgent and we are proud to support local families with a food distribution at our 2021 Lakehawk Service Day.”
The LSSC Foundation was able to coordinate this event thanks to a great partnership with the Lake Cares Food Pantry and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The event will offer nearly 25,000 pounds of food that will feed at least 450 families for a week or more.
Elsewhere across Lake and Sumter Counties, additional faculty, staff, and students from LSSC will be volunteering at selected service opportunities with 21 non-profit organizations.
2021 community service sites include:
- A Forever Home Animal Rescue (Tavares)
- Chase Animal Sanctuary (Webster)
- Community Foundation of South Lake (Clermont)
- Dream Catchers Horse Ranch and Rescue (Clermont)
- Early Learning Coalition of Lake County (Leesburg)
- Empower Farms (Tavares)
- Houndhaven, Inc. (Clermont)
- Lake Cares Food Pantry (Mount Dora)
- Love Groveland (Groveland)
- March of Dimes (Leesburg)
- Misfit Animal Clinic (Tavares)
- New Beginnings Thrift Store (Clermont)
- New Covenant United Methodist Church Thrift Store (The Villages)
- New Vision for Independence (Leesburg)
- Nunan Butterfly Garden /W.T. Bland Library (Mount Dora)
- Rafiki Foundation, Inc. (Eustis)
- Read to Sydney (Minneola)
- The FAITH Neighborhood Center (Groveland)
- Trout Lake Nature Center (Eustis)
- United Way of Lake and Sumter Counties (Leesburg)
- YOUR Humane Society/SPCA (Lake Panasoffkee)
In total, the LSSC community expects to volunteer a collective 800+ hours on Friday.
“We believe that community service is an excellent opportunity to not only make a difference in the community, but also to provide personal and professional development to our students and employees,” said Dr. Stanley Sidor, president of Lake-Sumter State College.
