Charity and community service doesn’t end after the holidays.
Power of Change, a community fundraising program, is coming to USF St. Petersburg this semester with the aid of campus organization CharitaBull.
Noora Khalil, 21, is the founder of USFSP’s CharitaBull, a student-run organization devoted to community outreach and service.
Khalil plans to bring Power of Change meters to campus. These meters will collect passerby’s loose change as donations to various charities.
“If every bull donated just 20 cents, we would already be at $1,000,” said Khalil.
To bring these meters to campus, Khalil is working with student government and TRIO Student Support Services, a service working to support first-generation college students on campus.
Khalil also hopes to have help from St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman.
Khalil formed CharitaBull last semester in hopes to unite fellow students in charitable activities. She established a back-to-school drive for impoverished youth, as well as what she likes to call an “Anything Drive.”
Last year’s “Anything Drive” collected everything from hygienic products to canned goods. Khalil and members of CharitaBull organized these goods and distributed them to larger charities. Clothes were sent to ShoeBox Recycling where they were sent for international aid. Stuffed animals were given to the St. Petersburg Police Department to be given to children in need of comfort especially in cases of domestic violence.
“Bulls are the best at so many things … I am excited for us to become the leaders in charity,” said Khalil.
CharitaBull is collaborating with Nicole Messina of TRIO, Jozef Gherman of Student Government and Jared Alberico of Student Veterans to initiate various projects at USFSP. CharitaBull’s next action is to march in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade in downtown St. Petersburg; banner and all.
“Right now, it’s just some of our members marching, but I would love to have other Bulls come out,” said Khalil.
Khalil would also like to send “love boxes” to soldiers in the U.S. military. When she asked what were the best items to send, she was told “just send junk food or magazines.”
“Seriously, imagine a soldier reading Glamour magazine,” she laughed. “But really, even simple things like that bring them closer to home.”
Khalil is working with group members of CharitaBull to gather these donations, as well as brainstorming for more opportunities to help. Khalil hopes to achieve all of these goals and also partner with Habitat for Humanity and Historic Kenwood for projects this semester.
“I’m like a painter looking at a blank canvas,” said Khalil. “There are just so many ideas and things I want to do. But I have to start somewhere and I’m just happy to be able to say that I tried.”
CharitaBull currently has 10 members, but Khalil hopes it grows. “It’s still new; it’s my baby,” said Khalil.
If you would like to march in the Martin Luther King Jr. Parade with CharitaBull, attend a meeting or get involved in future projects, please contact Noora Khalil at: nkhalil1@mail.usf.edu.
