The Eagle Endowment for Public and Community Service, a grant program for AU students to put their community service ideas into action, had its annual meal swipe event in the Terrace Dining Room Wednesday to raise money for the program.
"We ended up getting to our goal in an hour," said Mark Seaman, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and the executive director of the Eagle Endowment. "We got 1,500 meals in the first hour, which comes out to about $3,000."
According to Seaman, the single largest donation came from a freshman that gave 110 meals. "He lost his I.D. and never bothered to get a new one," Seaman said.
This is Seaman's fourth year with the Eagle Endowment and his third year participating in the TDR meal swipe program.
Emily Cook, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and assistant director of the Eagle Endowment, said the group plans to fundraise at local restaurants in January and February.
"Swiping for meals is a great opportunity for students to support their fellow students in the D.C. area," Cook said.
Seaman said the management from Bon Appetit and TDR have been very cooperative. He said he is pleased with the way Bon Appetit was so willing to help with the program.
"I am pleased with the way Bon Appetit was so open and willing to donate," Seaman said. "It is a great food service that is always willing to help the community."
However, some students are not as optimistic about the event.
John O'Trakoun, a junior in the School of International Service, is not sure about the effectiveness of the program.
"Personally, I'm not sure I would be as willing to donate money to this fund as I would be for more established fundraisers or fundraisers with a greater sense of urgency, like hurricane relief," he said.
The Eagle Endowment began in 2001 with the money left over from Project Playground, The Eagle previously reported. Members of the class of 2001 built a playground in southeast D.C. The $12,500 left over from the project founded the Endowment, Seaman said.
The Endowment recently awarded the annual prize to Monique Toussaint, a senior in Kogod School of Business, The Eagle previously reported.
Toussaint will host Kids2College, a program that will allow D.C. sixth graders to explore athletic-related careers during "Athletic Career Exploration Day" in the spring, according to her press release.
Five applications for the endowment were submitted this year. A committee of three students, one faculty member and one staff member decided who received the prize.
