The Commuter Student Association (CSA) held its 18th annual Thanks-Give-Away event on Thursday, Nov. 19. This year, the event raised $2,662 for Part of the Solution (POTS) which is a local food pantry on Webster Avenue. CSA President Guy Savino, GSB ’22, said he is very proud of CSA members for pulling off the event and raising the money. 

“I couldn’t be more proud with everyone on CSA for pulling off TGA seamlessly and absolutely smashing our fundraising from last year, which was only $2,100,” said Savino. “A huge goal of mine when I became president was to raise more funds than we ever had before, and we did that in one of the most difficult times of our life and I commend my whole team for that.”

The event lasted from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. and included performances by the Hot Notes, b-Sides, Satin Dolls, Ramblers and Candela Latina. Some performances were held at the Fordham Prep Theater while others were online. According to Savino, it was a new experience for the event. 

“We decided to host TGA from the Fordham Prep Theater, something none of us were familiar with,” said Savino. “However, we adapted and overcame each obstacle that came our way, and we were able to livestream our MCs, our performances and our speakers into different rooms on campus and to those watching from home via Zoom.” 

Besides these performances, the event also featured various raffles donated by numerous Fordham departments and organizations. The United Student Government (USG) donated a movie projector with a movie gift basket, the Residence Halls Association (RHA) donated a Nintendo Switch with three games, and Career Services, the Gabelli School of Business and Residential Life donated Fordham gift baskets that included Fordham merchandise, according to Savino. 

This year, the TGA planning committee faced the challenge of creating an event that was both entertaining and COVID-19 safe. According to CSA Vice President Darren Tha, FCRH ’22, CSA did so by limiting attendance to roughly 100 people and by serving prepackaged Thanksgiving meals. 

“We planned a hybrid event where we would still be able to have our traditional in-person event while streaming it for online viewers,” said Tha. “We kept the tradition of serving Thanksgiving food by ordering it pre-wrapped. To give out our raffle prizes, we moved it to IGTV in order to give all students a chance to watch it.” 

Savino also said that planning this year’s event was different because they needed to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines.

“My Executive Board stepped up to the plate this year and really hammered down the event guidelines for our General Assembly members so that everyone understood that all attendees and staff must be wearing masks and be socially distant,” said Savino. “Though, it was more than this. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of students that are on CSA this year. We didn’t meet each other all year in-person, only having meetings via Zoom. However, when we all began to meet each other and get to work on the day of TGA, it really felt like that sense of a tight-knit community was already there.” 

Although planning the event was a challenge due to the fluid situation in regards to COVID-19 safety protocols, Savino said that he was extremely proud of his club and the Fordham community as a whole for their contributions during this time. 

“With the head-strong mindset and passion that CSA possesses, each and every member was able to pull forward and deliver one of the best experiences I have seen during this pandemic, while breaking last year’s amount by over $500, which I was astonished by when I first heard,” said Savino. “Thank you to all the organizations on campus that donated a prize and to those that donated.”