Reaching out to the local senior community—and their pets—students, faculty, and staff at Lone Star College-Montgomery recently collected 1,177 pounds of pet food for The Friendship Center’s Pet Food Project, which provides pet food to homebound seniors and their companion pets within Montgomery County. Julie Alber, professor of speech at LSC-Montgomery, coordinated the campus-wide drive. According to Alber, the academic division that donated the most food by weight was the behavioral and social sciences division, and the student organization that donated the most food by weight was The Psychology Club/Psi Beta.
“For many of these seniors, their pet— their best friend, is their only family,” said Alber. “There is a tremendous need for donations, as some of the seniors were feeding their pets part of their delivered meals. I'm happy to say that I will be working with The Friendship Center to make the campus pet food drive an annual event.”
The Friendship Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of senior adults. The Pet Food project began in 2009 as an extension of the center’s Meals-on-Wheels program, which provides nutritious, hot meals to homebound seniors.
“The dedication among LSC-Montgomery faculty to teach students about being philanthropic is honorable,” said Kris Dimlich, coordinator of The Pet Food Project for The Friendship Center. “It is amazing to witness what can occur and what is possible when a community comes together.”
LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call 936.273.7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.
With more than 69,000 students in credit classes for fall 2010, and a total enrollment of more than 85,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area, and the fastest-growing community college system in Texas. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of five colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, and LSC-Tomball, six centers, LSC-University Park, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.