Several members of the UCF Parent & Family Philanthropy Council on Dec. 9 will pack about 50 bags from nearly 270 pounds of donated food. This service is to help meet the nutritional needs of hungry students while the pantry is closed from Dec. 13 to Jan. 9. The bags will be filled with tuna, pasta, tomato sauce, canned vegetables and ramen. Students can pick up bags from the Student Care Services office until Dec. 22, and again starting Jan. 3.

“These parents understand that some students literally spend their last penny on a textbook and they can’t eat. It’s provoked the parents to want to do more,” said Annie O’Donnell, director of UCF Parent & Family Philanthropy. The parent council is just under two years old and provides parents connections to the university and a platform for parents to donate their time, talent and resources to UCF.

The bag-packing is the parent council’s first hands-on service project. It stemmed from many of the council’s members feeling shocked and surprised when they learned students, too, struggle with hunger.

“It just did not enter into what I thought going to college was,” said Karen Manglardi, co-chair of the parent council. “The general thought was you went to college, you lived in a dorm, you had a meal plan, and you got involved with clubs and groups. I just never imagined there would be hungry students.”

Manglardi learned of the pantry from her mother, who attends UCF Learning Institute for Elders classes, and her son, Joey, whose classmate was one of the LEAD Scholars students who founded the pantry in 2009. Manglardi remembers her reaction being, “Why? There aren’t college students who don’t have money for food. That can’t be.”

She says now her reaction was wrong.

The pantry served more than 6,000 students in its founding year, and in the 2015-16 academic year, it served more than 13,000 students. It also has expanded to include clothing, a blazer-loaning service, fresh produce from the UCF Arboretum and more. The pantry added these services to draw more students in hopes of destigmatizing help and bringing the issue of hunger to light.

“Hunger is a silent problem,” said Roslyn Burttram, parent council member. Her son, Jackson, is a freshman studying engineering. “I have a friend who has struggled with hunger and has been to food pantries. Other friends told me their families needed assistance when they were growing up. These are very good friends of mine that I had known for years before I ever knew of their struggles. Hunger is not something that people will just come out and tell you.”

The pantry also offered emergency-supply bags over Thanksgiving break while campus was closed Nov. 24-27. All but three of the 25 emergency-supply bags were taken.

More than 3,300 students have officially graduated from LEAD Scholars Academy and are UCF alumni. LEAD Scholars Academy was initially created in 1995 as a leadership development program for incoming first year students. Today, LEAD Scholars Academy offers academic classes, co-curricular opportunities and events for FTIC and transfer students.

Amy Maitner, senior Advertising/Public Relations major, was one of the students who spoke to the audience. Maitner completed the two year academic program and is now a member of the Inspire Women’s Leadership Program-one of the Academy’s new third and fourth year tracks.

Maitner said, “Inspire created a community of empowerment for young college women, and we would meet throughout the semester to talk about a range of topics—anything from current trends and their effect on women to Emma Watson’s UN Speech. LEAD Scholars has helped me hone my leadership skills as a whole and connect further with the UCF community. I can thank LEAD for helping me become a member of the President’s Leadership Council, and I know that I am prepared for the adventures that lie ahead.”

Julien Meyer, UCF Class of 2014, stated, “LEAD taught me so much about servant leadership and the power of networking that I developed these skills to a point where they became second nature. Learning to inspire and motivate others through the program has proven to be my most valuable skill as a leader in the business world.”

LEAD Scholars Academy is located in Ferrell Commons 165 and includes two multi-purpose rooms, a study space and social areas for students.

SDS, which ensures that disabled students have equal access to UCF’s services, will operate out of Ferrell Commons Building 7F, Room 185. The space was formerly occupied by Career Services, which is moving to the new Career Services and Experiential Learning building on Memory Mall.

SDS expects to be fully moved and operational by Tuesday, Jan. 11.

The move will give SDS more testing area and extra space for students needing academic accommodations. The office will also include an assistive technology lab that will allow students, faculty and staff to test and learn specialty software and other technology.

The department’s telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. For more information and a map of the new location, go to .