December 1, 2008

Boilers Care-and-Share kicks off Martin Luther King Jr. celebration

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University will begin collecting non-food items at campus drop-off points beginning Monday (Dec. 8) for the annual Boilers Care-and-Share drive (formerly Gifts-in-Kind) as part of the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Collection boxes will be placed in university buildings through Jan. 14 for donations of family health items such as soap, deodorant, shampoo and baby products. A complete list of items will be posted at each collection site. Box locations and the items list can be found online at: https://www.purdue.edu/mlk2009

The items will be donated to the Food Finders Food Bank Inc., which serves 18 Indiana counties, including Tippecanoe County.

Purdue's annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration continues with two events on Jan. 19. Students, staff and community volunteers will participate in a Day of Service followed by an appreciation luncheon. Volunteers can register to help area nonprofit organizations by calling (765) 496-2450 by Jan. 15.

The day will conclude with keynote speaker Steve Curwood, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and executive producer and host of the Public Radio International program "Living On Earth." Curwood will speak at Stewart Center's Fowler Hall at 7 p.m. The Purdue Dreamer Award will be presented at this time as well.  The award, established in 2004, is given annually to an individual or organization within the Purdue University community whose contributions embody Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of service to others and further the university's commitment to diversity. The award is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance.

The Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will continue with a video presentation of "Environmental Racism" at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 in the Lawson Computer Science Building, Room 1142.

Boilers Care-and-Share and other Martin Luther King Jr. events are sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, Diversity Resource Office, Black Cultural Center, Office of the Vice President for Housing and Food Services, Latino Cultural Center, Native American Educational and Cultural Center and the Boiler Volunteer Network.

For more details, call (765) 494-7307 or https://www.purdue.edu/mlk2009.

Writer: Clyde Hughes, (765) 494-2073, jchughes@purdue.edu

Source: Alysa Christmas Rollock, Vice President for Ethics and Compliance, (765) 494-5830

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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