Students donate to Galesburg Animal Hospital | Community Spirit

submitted by Bill Gaither, Communications Specialist, Carl Sandburg College -

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a student organization at Carl Sandburg College, presented a check for $1,150 to the Galesburg Animal Hospital (GAH) on Tuesday, March 1.

The donation was part of an environmental sustainability effort sponsored through SIFE corporate and Sam's Club. CSC sophomore and SIFE Club President Megan Slater wrote a grant for $1,000, and club members contributed additional club funds. The check was presented to GAH as a representation of the partnership of SIFE and Sam’s Club.

The student club chose Galesburg Animal Hospital from a list of local businesses affiliated with Sam’s Club. SIFE Club members regularly met with representatives of Sam’s Club for assistance in the project. Sam’s Club donated products to aid in fundraising and contributed environmentally sustainable products to GHA. CSC SIFE members researched what the business was doing to maintain sustainability and made suggestions to the owner for improvements. CSC SIFE and GAH decided that an area of need was the old water heater. A new tankless water heater was purchased and installed. The new system will help the business save money by lowering utility costs. CSC SIFE also implemented recycling efforts by providing recycle bins at each workstation and funding several months of pick-up services. A Brita water filter was also purchased to help reduce bottled water consumption by employees.