When UF won its most recent college football championship in January, Steven Garces flew a Gators flag proudly like most Gators fans.
Except Steven Garces was stationed overseas in Afghanistan.
Now in a separate deployment, Garces wants a few UF posters to hang in his tent at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Ariz.
In an effort to support American troops domestically and abroad, UF's Student Alumni Association has introduced a program this year that asks all members to bring back their gift boxes when they are finished and fill them with toiletries and non-perishable food items for Gators soldiers everywhere.
"If we can get these boxes in Gator hands overseas, that's really our goal," said Laura Lentz, associate director of membership and marketing for the Florida Cicerones.
The idea of shipping the SAA Box, a gift for all members that includes Gators memorabilia and coupons for local businesses, to American troops actually blossomed out of a sustainability discussion, Lentz said.
"We're using soy ink, 100 percent recyclable materials, the printer used to print the boxes uses wind power and all that happy jazz," Lentz said.
In addition to the sustainable efforts used to create the box, SAA's goal is to keep it out of landfills by reusing the totes to send to American troops around the globe.
The new design of the box doesn't use laminated materials and cuts one-third of the overall expense, Lentz said. SAA is able to use those savings and apply them to the postage used to mail each box.
Some UF students are unaware of the program, however.
Victor Rosado, 23, didn't know about the program, but he expressed interest in the new sustainability efforts of the box.
"Last year, all the boxes ended up in landfills as litter. Now, SAA is reusing and recycling," Rosado said.
Boxes filled will be sent to troops approximately every three months, according to the UF Alumni Association's Web site.
Since the initiative's beginning during this summer's Preview, SAA has received approximately 30 boxes, most of which were returned during the first week of school.
"The idea is that every soldier gets a box or just something to open. It's like a gift," Lentz said.
Non-perishable food and toiletry donations can be dropped off at Emerson Alumni Hall located at 1938 W University Ave.
