CHASS staff is dedicated to giving back to the campus and its students.  

In July, departments within the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences held a food drive to benefit UC Riverside’s R’Pantry. R’Pantry is is an emergency food distribution center located in Costo Hall 110. It provides food, toiletries, and other items to undergraduate and graduate students via a point system, allowing each student to take home a number of free grocery items. 

The CHASS food drive was coordinated by Human Resources Analyst Alisha French. French and other CHASS employees contributed a mix of items including canned goods, cereal, baby food, dried fruit and personal items including shampoo, soap, and toothpaste. Each department was asked to place a donation box with an informational flyer in its break room.

"We always want to give back here in CHASS," French said. "We want to make sure we are able to touch some people's hearts. Even though we don’t see students as often, we want to make sure our impact is known. We know there’s a huge need, especially with food insecurity, and we wanted to be able to do something about that. We wanted to act because we want students to know we’re here for them as well as the community."

French, who has previously organized R'Pantry drives in central HR, first began coordinating the college-wide food drive at the beginning of the summer with assistance from Human Resources Business Partner Erika Leon. 

Nearly 1,000 items were donated, including several unique items that students were excited to see on the shelves. Within the following two weeks, the donated items were all taken home by students. 

"We got such a robust donation," French said. “These people here in CHASS have such generous hearts. It is so wonderful to work with this group of people. It was just amazing, and when we were over there dropping off these items to the R’Pantry, the students’ faces lit up. It was so cool."

"We at the R'Pantry are grateful to have such supportive partners dedicated to helping us reduce food insecurity on campus," said Wellness Coordinator Audrey Lim. “It showcases our commitment to student success. A huge thank you to everyone in CHASS, we look forward to continuing our partnership in the future. We are always open to new ideas and collaborations to support our students and, in addition to more food drives, we hope to work with departments across campus to better serve our student population.”

The Department of History collected the most items and won a free breakfast donated by the CHASS Dean's Office. Past donation drive winners have included the Departments of Economics and Political Science. 

French has also coordinated previous events, including the first CHASS-wide donation drive in 2018 benefiting the Guardian Scholars, a program led by Psychology Professor Tuppet Yates. Guardian Scholars provides resources to young adults who have aged out of the foster care system and lack basic necessities for college life. In total, CHASS collected 870 items including school supplies, toiletries, scantron, and dorm bedding.

CHASS also hosted a toy drive for the Spark of Love, in 2018. Staff members donated toys for children in need during a CHASS holiday luncheon.

"I love what CHASS does for our students,” Leon said. “I am a CHASS alum, so my heart is here. Even though we're the administration and not always interacting with students, we want them to know that we really care. Even if we don’t know you, we will do everything we can to support you. Working with Alisha to help give back and support students have been absolutely amazing because she is so giving and has a heart of gold."

"I hope that people see the giving hearts here in CHASS,” French said. “It is really wonderful to work with a group of generous people who want to give from the bottom of their hearts and who want to make an impact on the community and the campus community. It's so nice to see."

French hopes to continue promoting college-wide donation drives and is currently planning events for next year. Learn more about UCR's R'Pantry at basicneeds.ucr.edu/rpantry.

FEATURED PHOTO. Photo by Hannah Croft
Members of the CHASS Dean's office: From left, Alisha French, James Lin, Raymond Holguin, Erika Leon, Alica Kofford, Kelvin Mac, Dara Cerda, Nelda Thomas, Jeff Girod, Sharon Payne, Cindy Williams and Mayra Rueda.