With 500 bags of groceries, 20 student volunteers and one football team, coach Urban Meyer and Father David J. Ruchinski are trying to supply food and clothing to homeless people and needy families in Gainesville.
Gators football players gathered Monday at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center to help pack bags full of groceries and clothes. The players worked for a few hours, assembling about 500 bags, which will be distributed to about 300 families via St. Francis House, Catholic Charities and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
“It got to be a little competitive, with who could make a bag faster than the other one,” said Debby Cherwak, a campus minister at St. Augustine.
The event wasn’t just a showcase of the team’s speed. With about $12,000 worth of groceries and clothing donated, the charity was one of the largest St. Augustine Church has ever held, according to Ruchinski, who is pastor of St. Augustine.
Donations came from a wide variety of sources. Parishioners gave some cash, while Publix and Florida Food Service donated food. Pepsi and Nike added socks and shirts as part of their partnership with the University Athletic Association, and one local citrus farmer even contributed oranges.
The largest donation, however, came in the form of a cash gift from Meyer himself. Although Ruchinski would not give an exact amount, Meyer’s contribution paid for most of the supplies, according to Cherwak.
“It was a large, significant donation that reached a lot of people,” Ruchinski said.
He said Meyer contacted the church about a month ago, wanting to create a local, faith-based outreach program.
Student volunteers, such as Andy Kline and Scott Gulig, helped set up the event and transport the groceries to the charities to be distributed.
“It was good seeing the players out in the community doing something good,” Kline said.
