The Purdue Alumni Club of Evansville (PACE) and Indiana University Alumni Association Chapter of Greater Evansville (IUAA) hosted their 8th annual Red and Black Give Back food drive competition at the six Schnucks locations in Evansville and Newburgh this past weekend. The winner was determined by which club collected the most food and monetary donations. The teams were not only competing for a worthy cause, but also for bragging rights and possession of the Evansville Oaken Bucket. Both teams had an impressive performance throughout the tight competition, as their members volunteered alongside each other to help combat local hunger. In the end, Purdue pulled ahead to win possession of the Oaken Bucket for the 3rd consecutive year.
“On behalf of the Purdue Alumni Club of Evansville, we are incredibly humbled by our alumni and friends in their support of the Tri-State Food Bank.”, says PACE President Mandy Scheessele. “Winning the Evansville Oaken Bucket for a third year in a row took both school pride and a willingness to help a great organization. We want to thank the IU Alumni Association of Greater Evansville for another great year, hard-fought, and incredibly close competition. It is great to come together with our rivals for such a great cause. As always, the real winners are those that the Tri-State Food Bank serves.”
Representing IUAA, Nick Dus commented, “Our local alumni association chapter has a long history volunteering for the Tri-State Food Bank. Volunteering alongside the Purdue Alumni Club of Evansville is a fun competition that our chapter members enjoy. Congratulations to Purdue on what continues to be a very close call every year. However, the real winners are the Tri-State Food Bank and our community. Go Hoosiers!”
The collaborative effort of the two local alumni groups resulted in another record-breaking year for monetary donations for the fund drive – raising $10,972, which is over $1,000 more than the previous record set last year. In addition, 1,275 pounds of food were collected during the drive. The Red & Black Give Back food drive is a partnership with Tri-State Food Bank, who in turn will be able to provide over 47,000 additional meals to Tri-State families and individuals who face hunger.
Over the course of its 8-year history, 13,629 pounds of food has been collected through the food drive, and the accumulative donations total $46,353. Therefore, as an overall result of the Red & Black Give Back, the equivalent of over 200,000 meals has been generated to help fight hunger throughout the Tri-State.
