Dear readers,

    Soon to follow the Halloween festival is a traditional holiday widely celebrated in the United States that involves turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Want to take a crack at it? Yes, you got it — Thanksgiving!

    Thanksgiving is always one of my favorite holidays. Food is undeniably an incentive, but the series of efforts to give back and give others a hand is just as much to look forward to. With the holiday just around the corner, events are already springing up around us. On campus, canned food drives are the most common. Sometimes, the drives are purely donation-based. In other words, students are encouraged to drop off non-perishable items, be it canned tomato soup or crispy potato chips, into boxes located on campus. Other times, students organize events that accept food donations as admission. For instance, there was a fall festival last week that involved traditional Thanksgiving food for students where the admission fee was replaced by canned goods for local shelters.

    Some organizations have managed to add a creative touch to charitable efforts to help those in need. The other day, I came across an amusing piece of art. It was a tall, three-dimensional structure resembling a cartoon character. Upon a closer look, I was astonished to see that the structure was built using cans staggered and stacked on one another. The can labels were used wittingly to color the structure. It turned out that this was part of a competition in which architects and designers come together to build a themed piece of art with canned foods. After the competition, the cans are donated to local food banks. I thought it was a brilliant idea to put an artistic spin on giving back; it provides a platform for creativity whilst also spreading awareness with the art displays.

    Giving back to the community or helping those in need is an admirable deed. Whatever form the efforts take, in my opinion, they all help add meaning and value to the holiday.

    Sincerely,

    Bingyin