Student-athlete leads Red and White Hunger Fight

In the weeks before Thanksgiving, most college students anxiously count down the days and midterms standing between them and a big meal at home with family and friends.

For most, the only checklist to consult involves an open suitcase and making sure it holds nice clothes for Thanksgiving dinner and sweatpants for after dinner.

But for Mount Prospect, Ill., native and University of Wisconsin–Madison junior Michele Dalton, there is a second checklist. It concerns the needs of individuals and families in the Madison area and making sure they have a great Thanksgiving meal as well.

Dalton serves as the coordinator of Red and White Hunger Fight, an all-campus food drive to benefit families in need on Thanksgiving. This year, collaborating with student organizations and individuals across campus, Dalton and volunteers tallied thousands of pounds of food and $1,500 to donate in time for the holiday.

Dalton initiated Red and White Hunger Fight in 2008. After having good experience with similar campaigns in high school, she wanted to bring the idea of a big event to UW–Madison. She says that although Madison has a large campus, she knew the university community to be close-knit and believed it would do well with a campuswide campaign.

To bring the effort strength with numbers, Dalton reached out to more than 70 campus organizations. The Morgridge Center for Public Service, Student Athlete Advisory Committee, WISPIRG (Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group) Hunger and Homelessness Campaign, UW Homecoming and others combined resources to organize this year’s event.

For a month, donation baskets were located across campus in dorms, locker rooms of participating athletic teams and many more UW–Madison community spaces.

As an extra incentive for students, 20 tickets to the men’s basketball home game on Nov. 18 were awarded to the student organization, outside of athletics, that raised the most food items. Having collected more than 300 pounds of food, the UW–Madison Pre-Law Society was this year’s incentive winner.

Dalton acknowledged the tremendous efforts of participating athletic teams as well.

“Not only did representatives from 16 teams show up for our big day on Nov. 10 [to total and organize donations], but the women’s soccer team collected the greatest amount of food overall: 1,500 pounds,” Dalton says.

Dalton is goalie for the women’s soccer team, and according coach Paula Wilkins she serves as a role model for her teammates and the entire UW–Madison community. Wilkins attributes the drive’s success to Dalton’s dedication.

“It’s a great tribute to what one person can do when they are passionate about helping people,” Wilkins says.

Dalton attributes much of the event’s success to the individuals and groups that participated and helped her make the idea of such a large-scale effort a reality. She named the Morgridge Center’s civic engagement coordinator Anne Whisner as the individual who brought the fight to life.

“It was because of her encouragement and mentorship that I was able to pursue the dream I had,” Dalton says.

Whisner says that although the Morgridge Center supported the drive, the project was ultimately student-led.

“Michele and the volunteers were remarkable,” Whisner says, adding that she hopes the event will become a tradition. “It is a great indicator of the commitment UW students have to the area, and a chance for them to learn how they can make a meaningful impact in their communities.”

The Red and White Hunger Fight works with the Community Action Coalition in Madison to identify and serve deserving families in need. For more information and photos of this year’s drive, become a fan of Red and White Hunger Fight on Facebook.