The Commuting Students Association (CSA) held its 21st annual Thanks-Give-Away event on Nov. 17. The event, themed CS-rAve-away, was held in the Lombardi Center Fieldhouse.
DJ Nubs of Syracuse University provided hit songs as students hit the dance floor, and the night included raffles of numerous different prizes and food catered by Aramark. “We decided to choose foods that represented the commuter population, so we have some Asian and Caribbean dishes, as well as traditional Thanksgiving food,” said CSA Advisor Kayla Velez.
Thanks-Give-Away has been hosted by CSA for 21 years. “I think this event is important for CSA to be hosting because not only does it raise awareness of who CSA is, but more importantly, it sheds a light on what CSA does,” said CSA’s Executive Program Coordinator Crystal Wu, GSB ’25. “Throughout the year, our commitment is to improve commuter life through hosting events and reforming policies aimed to make commuters feel more at home when they are on campus. Recognizing that many of our commuter friends call the Bronx their home, we are dedicated to giving back to the community and actively contributing to the improvement of our community’s environment.”
In past years, CSA has raised around $2,000 through its Thanks-Give-Away. However, this year, the group wanted to focus not only on getting monetary donations, but also getting physical donations to give to those in need. “We raised $1,156 with donated items of 85 children’s recreational books, 51 canned goods, 18 coats, 9 hoodies and thin jackets and 24 clothing items,” said Wu. Money raised was through entry ticket sales, raffle ticket sales and direct donations of either money or physical goods.
Raffle winners were announced throughout the evening, and prizes ranged from gift cards to local restaurants such as Michelangelo’s and items such as AirPods. “In years past, all Thanks-Give-Away funds raised have gone to Part Of The Solution [POTS], but we felt that so many Fordham clubs and organizations donate to POTS and we wanted to find a cause that resonates with Fordham students,” said CSA’s Executive Vice President Kellen Zhang, GSB ’25.
This year, CSA plans to donate proceeds to Concourse House. “All canned goods will be donated to Campus Ministry for their various community programming, and all coats and books will be passed out at CCEL’s [Center for Community Engaged Learning] Fordham Fall Festival and Turkey Distribution in collaboration with the office of City Council Member Oswald Feliz,” said CSA Executive President Hector Cruz, FCRH ’24.
Planning for the event started in the summer with choosing a venue and deciding the theme. CSA members worked to create themed graphics and t-shirts, order materials, reach out to organizations to provide raffle prizes, book vendors and sponsors and draw up blueprints on how the event should be set up. Art Director John Silaban, FCRH ’27, created the CS-rAve-away logo of a bear named “Tyler, the Commuter,” who is seen on this year’s Thanks-Give-Away T-shirts and posters.
“As we were in the final stretch of Thanks-Give-Away, we realized that at least three clubs were hosting events at the same time,” said Wu. “We knew that this would hurt our attendance, so we decided to make engaging Instagram reels with CSA. Our board not only loved making silly reels, but we also bonded over making them.”
When asked why CSA has hosted the event for so many years, Cruz said, “Food drives and fundraisers are common around the holiday season, particularly before Thanksgiving. Many of us on CSA commute from the five boroughs of NYC, and hosting Thanks-Give-Away is an opportunity to give back to our own community in the same way other students may do so through food drives and turkey distribution throughout their own communities at home.”
Students hoping to learn more about CSA and get involved are welcome to attend their meetings, every Monday at 1 p.m. “Coming into Fordham University in the pandemic made it more challenging to find my community on campus, and I found the community I was looking for through CSA,” said Cruz.
