By Katelyn Perry

In September 2017,  Ellen DeGeneres announced that she was teaming up with Cheerios to spread acts of kindness in the “One Million Acts of Good” campaign, to be based on suggestions from viewers. Now St. John Fisher College and Lackmann Culinary Services have joined in on the action.

On Feb. 22, Lackmann staff members and Fisher students, faculty, and staff packed 300 MATTERboxes for six local schools and agencies in need: Bethany House, Nativity Prep, School 29, School 58, School 5, and Nazareth Elementary.  Each location received 50 boxes, which were delivered by Fisher Security staff a few days later.

“This event is important because we need to make sure that inner-city schools, especially inner-city schools, those students need to know that they matter,” said Kenneth Caminero, a Fisher junior. “The fact is that we’re all here for them. Whether it’s Fisher, whether it’s any other college, we want to make sure that these students, they know that they are cared for and something to live for.”

MATTERboxes are a project of the nonprofit MATTER organization, whose mission is to expand access to healthy living. The organization provides services such as  medical aid and healthy food. MATTER teams up with food distributors, such as General Mills, and many more sponsors to receive health food for the boxes.

The organization’s MATTERbox solution simply provides a box of healthy food that volunteers pack then send to areas in need. The box includes shelf-stable meals and snacks as well as nutrition education and a positive note of encouragement for healthy living from volunteers.

General Mills donated all the food to Fisher for the event. Each box contained two boxes of Cheerios, a granola bar, applesauce, and Wow Butter, which has the taste and texture of peanut butter but is made without peanuts. The boxes also included  notes of encouragement written by those who attended.

Lackmann was selected to partake in the “One Million Acts of Good” according to Andrea Maccarone, the director of dining services. Fisher is one out of seven colleges in the district, and the only one in Rochester, chosen to participate in the program.

“Moments like this just don’t come around as often as they should and I’m just so happy to be apart of the Fisher community to make a little bit of good in the world,” Maccarone said.

Samantha Bartolone, a Fisher student who helped with the project, said, “Having tutored at some of the schools that we are packing these things for, it’s just really nice to know that they will actually go to faces that I know and go to a community that’s so great.”