The Missouri Southern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has once again come through for the Joplin Community.
Consisting of members of each of the 14 intercollegiate sports programs at Missouri Southern, the SAAC is a group of student-athletes that advocate for their peers, as well as participate in outreach programs within the community.
One such program the group has become fond of is its annual Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat campaign. Done every year around Halloween, the Missouri Southern SAAC canvasses various neighborhoods in the Joplin area with flyers letting homeowners know they'll be coming back a few days later to collect canned goods.
This year's haul netted more than 2,000 canned goods and more than a ton of food that was donated to Souls Harbor in Joplin. Souls Harbor serves the Joplin area, as well as the entire four-state community. This donation accounted for $1,000's of food and was accepted with great appreciation from the group.
Lars Lindquist, a member of the MSSU football team said the woman at the shelter was nearly in tears with the donation.
"They told us 'I hope you all realize this is going to feed so many homeless in Joplin,'" he said. "This is thousands of dollars worth of food."
The group doesn't stop there with their generosity. Another project the group has taken on has been hanging out with the residents of Foxberry Terrace in Webb City.
Members of the SAAC visited the facility in December and played bingo with the residents, and they plan on making numerous return trips to the facility.
