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Kenya King
Director
Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Perimeter College
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DECATUR, Ga. – With food insecurity top-of-mind for many families this year, faculty and staff of Perimeter College at Georgia State University participated in Perimeter's Spirit of Giving, an annual college-wide donation drive. For last year's inaugural initiative, faculty and staff donated non-perishable food which benefitted five non-profit organizations near Perimeter campuses.
In its second year, Perimeter’s Spirit of Giving will support Project Healthy Grandparents, an initiative with Georgia State University's School of Public Health that has served grandparents raising grandchildren since 1995. To date, the program has reached nearly 3,800 grandparents and grandchildren in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties, providing social work and health services, grandparent support groups, early intervention programs, parenting education classes and transportation assistance.
The initial goal of Spirit of Giving 2025 was to collect donations to create ten Thanksgiving baskets for caregiving grandparents near Perimeter’s five campuses who are part of Project Healthy Grandparents. Thanks to an overwhelming response, five more baskets were added from Perimeter staffers and an additional five were contributed from Future Health Professionals students at Cedar Grove High School in DeKalb County. The 20 baskets will be delivered to local families this week.
Each basket includes a gift card for a turkey or ham, plus all the traditional Thanksgiving sides, including cranberry sauce, boxes of stuffing and macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables and more.
“I am so proud of how our Spirit of Giving program has grown in its second year and how incredibly successful it has been,” said Dean Johnson. “The generosity of our faculty and staff allowed us to expand our goal to help more families in need. This effort reflects our deep commitment to supporting grandparents who are raising grandchildren in our local communities.”
Starting November 19, Spirit of Giving is also launching a second campaign in collaboration with Perimeter's Student Life and SGA Senate encouraging donations of non-perishable food and hygiene items, which will be donated to Georgia State University’s Panther’s Pantry, a student wellness program that provides short-term food and hygiene support to students in need. While a toy drive was considered for this year's second campaign, in light of how many people are experiencing food insecurity this season, the focus shifted to helping students in need.
Non-perishable food items and hygiene products can be dropped off at Student Life offices on all five Perimeter campuses before the pickup dates shown below. In FY25, Panther’s Pantry distributed nearly 50,000 pounds of food and hygiene items to Georgia State University students.
Panther’s Pantry Donation Pick-Up Schedule
Items must be dropped off prior to 9 a.m. on the following dates:
- December 8: Alpharetta & Dunwoody
- December 9: Decatur
- December 17: Newton & Clarkston
Most-Needed Items:
Food: Canned protein (chicken, tuna, beans), soups, pasta & sauce, rice, peanut butter, granola bars, shelf-stable milk
Hygiene: Soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper
Story by Christy Petterson