Cans Around the Oval Fact Sheet History of Cans

Cans Around the Oval Fact Sheet History of Cans Around the Oval In 1987, a senior CSU PR student interviewed Sandy Bowden, the founder and first Director of the Food Bank for Larimer County as part of a class assignment. In the interview, Sandy spun the idea of circling the Oval with canned food as a way to promote a campus food drive. In her paper, the student coined the name “Cans Around the Oval.” In the spring of 1987, during graduation week, the student stopped by the ASCSU Community Services Office and handed the Director her paper and said, “Someone might want to implement this idea.” The Director read her short paper and agreed that it was a great idea. CSU contacted the Food Bank and they decided to partner on the project, expressing particular interest in an autumn/winter food drive during the time of their highest need. The first year the event raised only enough food to circle the Oval one time by placing the cans about 1 foot apart! Over the years, as the event grew, more and more cans were collected and the oval was circled with cans 3-4 times. Over time, the Office wised up and decided that the fun of lining the oval was diminished by the work of picking the cans back up and started just circling the oval one time! Since that time, Cans has grown in scope and impact, involving more groups and collecting more food each year. The Office for Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) now sponsors Cans Around the Oval. In 2006, close to 150 unique groups were involved and the 140,000 pounds of food collected could have circled the Oval over 65 times! 2008 Schedule of Events September 5-October 17 Stone Soup Spoons Soups & Salads will be creating delicious soup to raise money for Cans Around the Oval from community farmers’ donations! The soup will be available around CSU and in the Fort Collins community. You may see Stone Soup popping up at farmer’s markets, community events, and at CSU campuswide and sporting events. September 17 Supply Distribution Day Stop by the ASCSU Senate Chambers between 9am-5:30pm to pick up your food drive boxes, flyers, neighborhood maps, information packets, challenge/agreement forms, and to purchase a pint of Stone Soup! October 10 CANstruction Join us at the Homecoming Festivities on the west lawn of CSU from 5 PM till the carnival conclusion for CANstruction, an awareness event in which students and community groups design and build sculptures out of canned food. This growing phenomenon has taken food drives across the country by storm. You are responsible for raising your own cans, and you must adhere to the rules of the contest in order to be judged for a prize. You must register in advance to participate. Contact SLiCE 491-1682 to register. October 23 Oxfam Hunger Banquet Come join us for an educational dinner focused on the causes of world hunger and what you can do to be involved in ending hunger locally and globally. This event inspires and educates individuals to take part in the worlwide fight against hunger. 6:00pm in Parmelee Dining Hall. (Doors open at 5:30.) October 17 Cans Around the Oval Please drop-off your non-perishable donation at the Oval between 10am- 4pm, then join us for official total announcements and event conclusion celebration. …and Get Involved with Cans Around the Oval Here are some successful ways to collect non-perishables for Cans Around the Oval 2008! First, set a managable goal for how many pounds of non-perishable food you think you are capable of collecting. Second, go for it! Try and gather more than the previous year. If this is your first year participating, go for 1,000 lbs. It's not as hard as you think. Last year, eight members of the SLiCE office raised 1,200 lbs in just a couple of hours by going door-to-door in a neighborhood. Other ideas include asking for cans in class and at work; setting up a booth in an approved area, or even requesting monetary donations as you go (financial donations do count towards points for the contest!!) What About Points? Over the years, Cans Around the Oval has developed a strong sense of friendly competition in our community. Participating groups can issue challenges (discussed below) to other groups to see who can raise the most food. Typical contests exist between residence halls, greek organizations, student organizations and colleges and departments; but they can be between any group who is up for the challenge. Points are issued to each team based on how much food they donate. Please carefully review the point system! ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 1 pound of food (anything but highly-needed items) = 1 point 1 pound of “highly-needed” food = 2 points $1 in cash (up to $5,000 dollars) = 1 pound of food = 1 point $1 in cash (only AFTER raising $5,000 dollars) = 2 pounds of food = 2 points (After raising $5,000, each dollar up to and over $5,000 counts for two points) Highly-needed items are: • • • • canned tomato products (not ketchup) canned fruit peanut butter meals in a can (i.e. ravioli, chili, spaghetti Os, canned foods with meat/protein, but NOT SOUP!!) How Do We Earn Points? 1. Collect Canned Foods!! Don’t forget those double-point items! 2. Buy a quart (or many!) of Stone Soup between September 17 -October 17 at any Spoons Location or at the various locations around the community at which it is sold. 1 quart= 10 points. 3. Participate in CANstruction (participation= 100 points; 1st place= 500 points; 2nd place=400 points; 3rd place=300 points) 4. Attend the Oxfam Hunger Banquet (100 points for groups of 5 or more) 5. Raise more than $5,000 dollars!! The CAN-vass What is it? Spending a couple of hours as a group, going door-to-door in your local neighborhood, collecting cans. This is far and above the most effective way to get cans. ♦ Reserve a designated neighborhood, through the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement office (SLiCE) at Distribution Day on September 17. This will prevent neighborhoods from being canvassed twice and will increase your success. ♦ When you reserve a neighborhood, the SLiCE Office will supply you with a map and bags donated by King Soopers. ♦ As a group, go to your assigned neighborhood and ask for food donations from the residents. Tell them about Cans Around the Oval. Make sure the group members are in twos or threes for safety. Never go alone!!! ♦ Use the canvassing flier to verify your affiliation with CSU and Cans Around the Oval. ♦ Make sure to wear clothing/buttons that identify you with CSU/Cans Around the Oval. ♦ Make sure that you have your cans collected before the 17th of October for the annual Cans Around the Oval event! Deliver canned goods during your group’s designated time! Why should your organization a CAN-vass? ♦ It’s a quick and easy way to gather large amounts of food. ♦ It’s a great team builder. ♦ It’s a great way to get the community involved while helping out the Food Bank for Larimer County. Effective CAN-vassing tips – ♦ A two person team can cover between 50-100 houses in an afternoon depending on the layout of the neighborhood. Split up your routes accordingly. ♦ When asking a community member for help in any way, it is important to keep it quick and simple. o Three simple statements are all that is needed. “I am,” “we are doing,” and “we need.” For instance, “Hello! I am John Smith with Colorado State University. Today we are collecting cans and financial donations for our annual Cans around the Oval fundraiser for the Larimer County Food Bank. Have you heard of this event before?” [explain the event] “Today we are asking community members to make a donation in cans of food or financial contributions to Larimer County Food Bank. What would you like to contribute today?” o You may even want to mention the organization with which you are affiliated and any challenges you have entered if you think that will help your collection. ♦ When asking for donations, it is important to ask community members what they will donate, not if they will donate. ♦ You may receive a myriad of reactions to your presence. Remember, some of the community members you may be approaching are people who receive help from the Food Bank. Some other folks may have no interest in helping out. REMEMBER: No matter what the reaction, you are doing a great thing for our community and it is okay if a person is not interested. Don’t spend too much time convincing a person to help…move on and hope for a donation at the next door! ♦ Have a vehicle within a block or two to place donations in after they have been collected. Carrying too many cans will wear you out!! ♦ What we are doing is crucial to the Larimer County Food Bank, and it is fantastic that we get to do so in such a fun way! Go out with purpose and have a great time! Challenges Cans Around the Oval thrives on group challenges! Challenge a CSU student organization, a department, a local business or public school to see who can raise more pounds of food by October 17, 2008. The stakes are high; being 2nd means carrying out the agreed consequence for losing the challenge, such as wearing a bunny suit to class for a day, serving the winner pizza or ice cream, or even agreeing to shave a head. In the past, the College of Business challenged the College of Engineering and the winning college dunked the losing college’s Dean in water. Be creative and have fun with it! Challenge forms are attached. Please make a copy of your challenge form and submit it to SLiCE with your agreement form. Mini-Challenges Within Your Own Team ♦ A class or school group can issue mini-challenges. ♦ For example: Tuesday is canned veggie day. Whoever, individually or by groups, brings in the most canned veggies wins a small prize such as a coupon for ice cream or a hamburger. Reach Out and Get Creative Approach surrounding businesses and get them involved! ♦ Ask businesses to sponsor events such as: o A car wash where the business donates the supplies and your organization collects cans from supporters in return for getting their car washed. o One group organized the “Cans Film Festival.” Moviegoers exchanged cans for a ticket to the show. o Another group organized a dance where admission was a can of food. ♦ Challenge a business to match what you collect in cans with donations. ♦ King Soopers and Spoons Soups & Salads are already on board as major sponsors. Please do not approach them for help. CANstruction What is it? CANstruction is a competition organized to raise food for the Cans Around the Oval food drive and raise awareness for the Food Bank for Larimer County. Registered groups design and build a structure out of non-perishable food items to raise awareness about hunger. For example, last year a group CANstructed a dog bone out of food with the theme “Take a bite out of hunger.” CANstruction will be held for the first time this year in conjunction with Homecoming, at the carnival on the west lawn October 10th, 2008 from 5 PM till the conclusion of the carnival. Participants will need to arrive at 4 PM to begin construction. Please refer to the SLiCE office for further details. ♦ CANstruction is an event that happens in various communities nationally. For pictures of some inspiring CANstructed items visit: http://www.canstruction.com/indexi.html ♦ Please register your group and design with the SLiCE office no later than Wednesday, September 17, 2008, so that we can reserve you a place in the carnival. ♦ Make sure that you have collected cans for your structure IN ADVANCE of CANstruction Day. Cans ARE NOT provided for CANstuction—you must bring your own. ♦ The top three structures, based on votes from CSU students, faculty, and staff and alumni passing by on October 10, will receive bonus pounds towards their total poundage collected on October 17. ♦ The food gathered during CANstruction will be taken directly to the Food Bank at the end of the day and we will record how many pounds your structure contributed and add that amount to your final poundage on October 17. Why Should you Participate in CANstruction? ♦ To gain positive publicity for your club, organization, or school and show the campus that you care about your community by donating your time and cans. ♦ To have fun and partake in the 8th annual CANstruction at Colorado State University! ♦ Because structures made out of cans are WAY cool! CANstruction Basic Guidelines ♦ Only pre-packaged cans and food items may be used. Any size can (big or small) can be used in the structure. ♦ The structure must be self-supporting. ♦ Only cardboard or foam board (for leveling), rubber bands, and tape may be used, NO METAL. ♦ The cans/boxes cannot be harmed and their labels must remain intact and not be covered!! ♦ The structure must be built in a 10’x10’x10’ area. ♦ The teams will have a predetermined amount of time to construct that will be announced on or about September 17th, 2008. No pre-assembly is allowed. ♦ Structure may not be anything you can walk under or through. Awards for CANstruction! The three structures that receive the most votes and fit the guidelines will receive the following awards: 1st Place: 500 bonus pounds 2nd Place: 400 bonus pounds rd 3 Place: 300 bonus pounds Note: Each team will receive 100 bonus pounds just for participating! CHECK LIST ____ 1. Designate a contact person. ____ 2. Attend “Distribution Day” and pick up boxes, posters, fliers, info packets, challenge forms and big can receptacles. Use these items to begin your collection process. ____3. Decide if you will participate in CANstruction (October 10th), and/or the Oxfam Hunger Banquet (October 23rd) ____ 4. Fill out the Agreement Form and bring it in to SLiCE by Friday, September 17, 2008. ____ 5. Label the collection container with the name of your student organization, fraternity, sorority, college, residence hall, apartment community ,or group. ___ 6. Decide on a location to place your collection container. Try somewhere in your office, lounge, hallway, or house where others can notice it and it will be safe. ___ 7. Come up with creative ways to collect canned food and most of all, have fun with it!!! ___8. Purchase Spoons Stone Soup from any Spoons Restaurant location or check with the SLiCE Office about upcoming sale locations! ___ 9. Separate the Highly-needed items from the rest of the items in order to receive your double points. ___ 10. Deliver your containers of canned food to the Oval on October 17. You will need to drop them off at the southeast corner of the oval at your designated time (see the Agreement Form for the specified drop-off times). ___ 11. Pat yourself on the back, and feel good about what you have done to help the local community and the Larimer County Food Bank. Highly Needed Items = Double Points canned tomato products (not ketchup) canned fruit peanut butter meals in a can (i.e. ravioli, chili, spaghetti Os, canned foods with meat/protein, but NOT SOUP!!) • • • • For more information call the SLiCE office at 970-491-1682! Cans Around the Oval Agreement Form Cans Around the Oval Agreement Form In order for the 21st Annual Cans Around The Oval to be successful, there are a few instructions that need to be followed. Please initial by each item to indicate you have read and understood the statement. Return this form to SLiCE by Friday September 17th, 2008 _______Our organization is participating in the 21st Annual Cans Around the Oval event on Thursday, October 17th. _______ We have carefully read through the packet. _______ We have filled out the Agreement Form and sent it into the SLiCE Office. Also, if we are issuing a challenge, we have sent a copy of the Challenge Form to SLiCE. _______ We understand the canned foods must be delivered to the CSU Oval on October 17 at the following times (if you need food to be picked up, please contact the SLiCE office at 970-491-1682 to reserve a spot): Student Organizations:……………………………...Drop off between 10am-12noon Greek Chapters and Residence Halls:…………….. Drop off between 12noon-2pm Colleges, Administration Offices, K-12 Schools and Community Participants:……………..Drop off between 2pm-4pm _______ We understand highly-needed items need to be in a separated in order to receive double points for these goods. Organization:_________________________________________________ Date:_________________ Contact Person:_______________________________________ Phone Number:________________ Email:___________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________________________ Number of Students in Organization: _______ We would like to participate in CANstruction: __________ If challenging a “partner organization,” please include who: _________________________ Please return agreement form to the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement office by Wednesday, September 17th. Late applications will be accepted until September 26th, 2008. The SLiCE Office is located on the main level of the Lory Student Center next to the Campus Box Office: Student Leadership, Involvement & Community Engagement Colorado State University Lory Student Center Ft. Collins, CO 80523 Questions? Please contact the SLiCE office at 970-491-1682! CANS AROUND THE OVAL CHALLENGE FORM Greetings _____________________________________ ! You have been challenged! Cans Around the Oval is the largest one-day food drive in Northern Colorado. Last year, over 127,000 pounds of food were raised for the Food Bank for Larimer County. This 21-year tradition has grown greatly creating unity among the CSU and Fort Collins communities. CSU students, faculty, and staff, along with K-12 students, community members, and local businesses find imaginative and impressive ways to collect canned foods and raise awareness about hunger. Events includes dances and talent shows, trick-or-treating for cans in local neighborhoods, building structures out of canned goods, and issuing challenges to peers and friends. Challenges have been one of the most productive devices in motivating people to participate in the fight against hunger. Therefore.... WE, _________________________________ would like to challenge YOU, ________________________________ in an attempt to be the best of the best in the effort to fight hunger in Larimer County! On October 17, we can bring our canned goods to the Colorado State University Oval, where cans will be weighed in and totals tallied. If YOU win the challenge, and raise the most food, we promise to: If WE win the challenge, and raise the most food, you promise to: We look forward to hearing from you and seeing if you are ready to take on an intense (yet friendly) competition. Please let us know if you accept the challenge, and what you’re willing to wager! Please contact us at: Contact: ______________________________________________________________________________ Organization/Group: ____________________________________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________________________________________________ Email: ________________________________________________________________________________ Sincerely, ______________________________ Organization Name PS – FYI: The following items are of pressing need at the Food Bank for Larimer County, and count towards “double-pound points” in the Cans Around the Oval Challenge! 1. 2. 3. 4. Canned Fruit Meal in a Can (ie: Chili, Ravioli, etc. NOT SOUP!) Peanut Butter Canned Tomato Products (excluding ketchup!) For more information on Cans Around the Oval, and for thoughts on how to organize a food drive visit www.slice.colostate.edu or call 970-491-1682.