Athens, Ga. – Campus Kitchen at UGA was named the University of Georgia’s “Organization of the Year” during the 12th Annual H. Gordon and Francis S. Davis Student Organization Achievement and Recognition Awards, given out April 10 at the Tate Student Center. The hunger relief student organization, launched in March 2011, also received an award for “Outstanding Service to the Community.”
The SOAR Awards are designed to celebrate the accomplishments of student organizations at UGA.
In partnership with several community agencies, including the Athens Community Council on Aging, Campus Kitchen at UGA salvages surplus food from local restaurants and businesses and transforms the ingredients into healthy meals for senior adults and their families. Campus Kitchen gives students an opportunity to explore community issues of hunger and poverty, to foster intergenerational relationships and to develop leadership skills related to their academic focuses.
“Winning these two SOAR Awards was a really special moment for me and the rest of the Campus Kitchen leadership team members, and we are so honored to be recognized,” said Xanna Burg, a senior dietetics major from Douglasville and nutrition outreach coordinator for the organization.
“These awards sum up the countless hours volunteers commit to this organization every day of every single week, even on school holidays and during summer break. I am amazed at how much Campus Kitchen has grown over the past year. With the motivation from being recognized at the SOAR Awards, I know the organization will continue to grow and have an even bigger impact on the community.”
Other award categories and their recipients are:
• Organizational Improvement: Red Cross at UGA
• Most Innovative Program: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. for “Don’t Fall Victim: An Interactive DUI Awareness Program”
• Outstanding Cultural Awareness Program: WUOG 90.5 FM for its international music and cultural programming
• Organizational Collaboration: Residence Hall Association, University Union’s Committee for Black Cultural Programs and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. for “See the Vote” and “Watching Washington,” a two-part political awareness program
• Outstanding Campus Event (Small): Lambda Alliance for its “Queer Poetry Slam”
• Outstanding Campus Event (Large): Shop with a Bulldog for its Christmas shopping initiative with local children in need
• Outstanding New Organization: TEDxUGA Student Organization
• Bulldog Vision Award: Lindy Johnson and Tobie Trudeau for the “Journal of Language and Literacy Education”
• Candice Sherman Emerging Leader Award: Erik Krumins, Athens Campus Lions Club
• Advisor of the Year: Evan Thrailkill, Residence Hall Association
The awards are sponsored by the Center for Student Organizations and the Leadership Resource Team. For more information, see http://stuorgs.uga.edu.
The Center for Student Organizations is a unit within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.