Every Gift Matters
One can of soup. One hour of volunteering. One $10 donation.
On their own, those contributions may seem small. But at Kent State’s Flashes Fighting Hunger program, thousands of small acts of generosity have come together to create something extraordinary.
Behind every one of those numbers is a simple truth: meaningful change doesn’t happen because one person gives everything. It happens because many people each give something.
“Our program wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the generosity of our donors, alumni, students and community members,” said Ken Ditlevson, assistant dean of students and director, CARES Center. “Every penny really goes a long way in making an impact on our program and in our greater community.”
For Ditlevson, generosity isn’t defined by the size of the gift. Instead, he sees support for Flashes Fighting Hunger through three simple but powerful ideas: time, talent and treasure. Whether someone gives an hour of their afternoon, donates food through a community drive or makes a financial contribution, every gift becomes part of something much larger, a network of neighbors and Flashes taking care of Flashes.
Giving Time
Walk into Flashes Fighting Hunger on a Tuesday or Friday afternoon, and you’ll likely find volunteers stocking shelves, organizing groceries and greeting visitors with a smile. The pantry depends on those volunteers.
Each week, students, community members, faculty and staff help prepare food distributions that serve hundreds of people. Volunteers also recover surplus food from area partners like Trader Joe’s several times each week, ensuring perfectly good food reaches families instead of landfills. Every third Wednesday of the month, Flashes Fighting Hunger partners with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank to host a large community food distribution.
“Without volunteers, this program truly would not work,” Ditlevson said. “It’s only about a one-hour commitment, but that one hour makes a tremendous difference.”
That collective effort has helped Flashes Fighting Hunger grow since 2021, a reflection of both increasing need and an ever-growing community of people willing to help. For many volunteers, the impact extends far beyond the people receiving food.
“When you leave after that one- or two-hour commitment, you leave feeling on top of the world,” Ditlevson said.
“You leave feeling fulfilled and knowing you’ve made a difference. You see the human impact, and it feeds your soul.”
Giving Treasure
While volunteers keep the pantry running, financial gifts make it all possible. Donations help cover transportation costs for recovery trips, purchase supplemental food through the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank and support the student employees who help coordinate daily operations.
Food donations are equally valuable. Faith communities, civic organizations, alumni groups and local businesses regularly organize food drives with Flashes Fighting Hunger as the beneficiary, proving that meaningful impact doesn’t require extraordinary giving.
“Just collecting one or two canned goods from each individual that’s able to contribute – that larger impact can really go a long way in serving tons of families in need,” Ditlevson said.
It’s a simple idea that mirrors the philosophy behind microgiving, when many people contribute what they can, those small gifts become something transformative.
Giving Talent
Supporting Flashes Fighting Hunger also means sharing skills, experience and passion. Some volunteers enjoy serving guests during pantry hours. Others prefer working behind the scenes loading trucks, organizing donations or making food recovery trips at times that fit their schedules.
“We want to tap into where people’s interests and passions are, no matter how you’d like to give back, every little bit is going to make our community stronger and really make a lasting impact on our Kent State community,” Ditlevson said.
By creating opportunities that fit different schedules and interests, Flashes Fighting Hunger makes it easy for nearly anyone to make a difference in the community.
More Than a Campus Pantry
Many people associate Flashes Fighting Hunger with serving Kent State students, but its impact reaches far beyond campus. The pantry supports students, staff and residents throughout Portage County, including seniors, individuals with disabilities and families experiencing food insecurity.
“I’m thankful we have the ability to serve not only the campus community, but also the greater Kent community,” Ditlevson said. “It’s a better world when we all work together and help each other when we can.”
Food fills a pantry, but generosity builds a community. Every hour volunteered, every can donated and every dollar given tells students and neighbors that they matter. That’s the spirit Ditlevson hopes every supporter remembers.
“If I could tell every donor, volunteer and supporter one thing, I’d say your contribution, no matter how large or how small, is going to make our community stronger and make a lasting impact on an individual or family. There’s no contribution that’s too small,” Ditlevson said.
Whether through time, talent or treasure, every act of generosity strengthens the Kent State community, proving that when Flashes take care of Flashes, the impact extends far beyond campus.
To make a monetary gift to support Flashes Fighting Hunger, visit our online giving portal.
To learn more about Flashes Fighting Hunger including information on how to donate items for distribution and how to volunteer, visit the Flashes Fighting Hunger website.
