Florida National University Holds COVID-19 Relief Food Drive
Norfolk, VA- Student-Athletes, coaches, students, Helping Hands (COVID-19 Relief group), and a number of other local organizations from Florida National University held a COVID-19 Relief Food Drive on February 12th, 2021. They plan to hold a second event on February 26th, 2021. Both events were/are drive-thru COVID-19 Relief Food Drives put together by FNU and Helping Florida, which is a non-profit organization. Helping Hands Florida helped sponsor the events and donates the food for the community at large.
FNU events was/is open to anyone, especially those in their immediate community, the City of Hialeah. FNU plans to hold these type of events every couple of weeks moving forward.
A few members of FNU’s athletic department shared their experience during their first event.
"It was a very heartwarming experience being able to help my school in this event along with other athletes. I was so happy to see so many people helping out, making sure everyone was safe, and that everyone that came would leave with a box of food. In the end, there were no boxes left and that was an amazing feeling to know that so many people were able to get a box of food which could help others especially during these difficult times."
-Prisilla Gonzalez, Women's Cross Country Athlete
"We here at FNU take pride in giving back to our community. We gave out over 1600 boxes of food. In this pandemic, we never know who needs the help. To see that number of families come thru to get that box tells me we needed to help them. Florida National University is here to help our Hialeah community and the surrounding cities in any way we can."
-Giovanni De la Rosa, Women's Soccer Head Coach
"These types of events are very good for the FNU team, both athletes and staff. It shows how our members are engaged to improve the life of our community, and how we care about each other in the tough times that we are having right now. We all need as much help as possible."
-Pedro Lumbieri, Men's Soccer Team Manager
"Collectively working with my teammates and coaches during the food drive was a gratifying experience. The fact that we all come together to give back to our local community was rewarding, especially knowing that those we helped were going home to a full fridge."
-Mery Jade Yanez Mendieta, Women's Soccer and Cross Country Athlete