By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Staff members at Eastern Washington University's Sutton Hall figured out a way to can their bosses – so to speak.
All six departments in Sutton have been raising donations the past two weeks for Cheney's Food Bank through a competition lovingly entitled “Can the Boss.”
The idea is to get donations of canned and boxed food, and store the items in the respective department head's office until all the goods are collected, tallied, and taken to the food bank on Dec. 18.
Event organizer Dawn Hawes in Eastern's student financial services office said the Sutton departments, admissions, advising, financial aid, registration, student enrollment and student financial services had raised 1,461 “points” as of Friday, Dec. 15.
“Each can of food or each item is worth one point,” she said. “If people donated money, it's one point per dollar.”
The departments are also taking toy donations for distribution to the Toys for Tots program as well.
Hawes came up with the Can the Boss campaign while getting ready for work one morning. She saw a news item on TV about a public school doing something similar, only storing the food in their principal's office.
“It started then, and I came in to work and thought that sounded like fun,” she said.
Hawes got with fellow staff member Bobbie Maxville, and the two have been responsible for spearheading the competition – which truly has become competitive.
Several departments have taken up a sort of marketing approach to raising donations, with staff members in admissions – who Hawes and others in her department feel have too much time on their hands – going so far as to create a bigger-than-life-sized poster of department head Shannon Carr stuffed into a Campbell's soup-type can.
Other departments are collecting money from staff members with the intention of going to Costco or other wholesale food distributors and buying as much as the can, so to speak.
“Some people are very competitive,” financial services staff member Stewart Maxson said.
“It's just that in this case, we've got their competitive edge focused on food.”
Word about the Can the Boss drive spread outside of Sutton, with other campus departments such as the University Bookstore, grants, dining services, the JFK Library and health and wellness taking part as well.
“We've got everyone hooked,” student financial services director – Hawes' boss – Dennis Wilson said.
Hawes said the departments have a commitment to doing charitable work during the holidays. Last year they donated to the university's Tree of Sharing, which helps students in need, and are doing so again this year as well as the Can the Boss drive.
But no competition is truly competitive without some reward for the winners, and Can the Boss is no exception.
The winning department gets a potluck, prepared and provided by all of the other departments participating.
For Hawes, Maxson, Wilson and the rest, the reward is also assisting those in need, and being eyewitness to the feeling of community it has instilled campus-wide.
“It's neat to see it grow from an idea to a whole building, and across campus,” Maxson said.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected]
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