Helping students and others in need during the holidays
As we approach the end of a year of tremendous challenges, I give thanks to our UC Davis families. Your support has helped countless students and made our campus community a stronger, more compassionate place.
The holidays offer a special opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. We can support students, children and the animals we love with a gift of any size—and spark joy by participating in the online UC Davis Children’s Hospital Toy Drive.
For students struggling with food insecurity, the ASUCD Pantry is a much-needed resource serving hundreds each week. The Pantry works with Yolo Food Bank and other organizations to purchase food at cut-rate prices (e.g. bakery products at 19 cents per pound, cans for 15 cents), meaning even small donations go a long way in feeding students.
Other crucial services include the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, which connects students with CalFresh, housing, financial assistance, mental health services and more, and Student Emergency Relief Aid (SERA), which offers students quick cash awards for urgent needs not covered by other assistance.
The holidays also offer opportunities to help area families. Your gifts strengthen the UC Davis Children’s Hospital, the region’s only nationally ranked hospital for children, in offering the highest level of care. And, as mentioned, you can add a toy!
As for our companion animals, the School of Veterinary Medicine Compassionate Care Fund helps defray costs for families to treat their sick or injured pets.
If you are able to give this holiday season, your gift will have a tremendous impact on our students, area families and the animals we love.
Thank you for your support—and I wish you and your families the happiest of holidays this year.
For more information about how parent giving makes a difference in students’ lives, contact Cari DuBois-Wright, Associate Director of Development in Parent Giving, at caduboiswright@ucdavis.edu, 510-388-3605. You can visit our Parents Fund website here as well as learn more about our Family Fellows.