Students have a few hours left to support Southern California wildfire victims through the #FillThoseTrucks donation drive, a campus-wide effort to collect essential supplies for those affected. Organized by Associated Students Inc. (ASI) in collaboration with Meathead Movers, the initiative concludes this evening after beginning collections Tuesday.
The donation drive is collecting personal hygiene supplies, baby products, flashlights, batteries and bottled water, according to ASI’s website.
Drop-off locations are located across campus. The main donation site is the Multi-Activity Center (BLDG. 43), where a Meathead Movers truck is stationed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Larger donations are encouraged to be delivered to this location, according to the email from ASI.
Additional drop-off locations include the University Union, ASI’s Student Government Office (BLDG. 65) and the Mustang Business Park. The drive also has a drive-up option at the corner of Hathway Avenue and Longview Lane for smaller donations.
“As a mover for Meathead, it’s great to see the community come out and support these donation drives and support the LA wildfires,” said Payton Ramos, a Meathead Movers employee. “We’ve already sent four full 24-foot trucks down to Los Angeles, and that’s just from the San Luis Obispo branch of the company.”
Efforts to promote the drive from ASI included an Instagram post, posters and a school-wide email sent on Wednesday. Jack Reed, a facility supervisor for ASI and a public health senior, highlighted the variety of donations received so far.
“It’s been really good so far, even being my first day here helping, we’ve seen all sorts of donations from toiletries to lots of bottled water,” Reed said.
Reed emphasized the importance of the initiative for the campus community.
“I think something like this drive is important for the greater Cal Poly community as it gives us a chance to give back and help out, especially when a large part of Cal Poly is from LA,” Reed said. “This drive will be a great opportunity for the future.”
The collaboration between ASI and Meathead Movers has drawn attention to the potential for future partnerships, Ramos added.
“Our partnership with ASI is a promising example that we can do more community drives in the future with Cal Poly,” Ramos said.