“Stop Hunger Now” Event Embodies Ferrum College Motto “Not Self, But Others”

More than 400 Franklin County and College community members combine efforts to package and ship over 50,000 meals to countries in need.

Ferrum, Va. (Feb. 21, 2012) – This past weekend more than 400 people came together on the Ferrum College campus and packaged 52,000 meals during the third annual Stop Hunger Now event, which brought true meaning to the College motto “Not Self, But Others.” With the $13,000 cost of ingredients covered by donations, these highly nutritious meals were packaged in just three hours and will be shipped to feed the world’s most impoverished.

Co-sponsored by the Ferrum College Rotaract Club, the Rocky Mount Rotary Club, and Mu Sigma Chi, the Stop Hunger Now event included fundraisers, donors and volunteers from Ferrum College Greek societies and service organizations, as well as Boy and Girl Scouts, churches, civic groups, families and individuals from around Franklin County.

“So many individuals and organizations helped support this Stop Hunger Now event and many College faculty, staff, students and parishioners were part of the effort,” said Ferrum College President Dr. Jennifer Braaten. “We are proud of the amount of time and energy that so many from our community devote to help so many other people both locally and around the world.”

Stop Hunger Now event organizer and former Ferrum College board member, Walter Hughes, agreed. “The wonderful partnership is so appreciated between the College, Rotary, churches, clubs, and fraternities and sororities,” he said.

Through Stop Hunger Now’s packaging program, volunteers package life-saving meals combining rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, flavoring and a mixture of 21 vitamins and minerals into reasonable servings of six. The meals are easy to transport, have a long shelf life and cost only $0.25 per meal to create. All costs are covered by donations. Since the program’s inception, more than 155,000 volunteers have packaged more than 58 million meals.

Thirty-one Ferrum College Dining Services Employees Complete Recent Customer Service Training

Thirty-one Ferrum College Dining Services employees recently completed the second in a series of six customer service training classes, which give them valuable insight into how to "WOW" their customers.

In an attempt to be competitive in today’s market even a college cafeteria has to go above and beyond.  That’s how Ferrum College Assistant Director of Dining Services Mike Ferguson ’81 sees it.

“We can’t just be service thinkers, we must also be customer service providers.  We try very hard to keep our staff updated on the latest trends because the majority see themselves as ordinary people,” said Ferguson.  “When we put them through a customer service training class they come to realize that they are extraordinary people.”

Thirty-one members of the Ferrum College dining hall staff recently completed the second in a series of six classes in the “Customer Service for Dummies” training series.  “Although that title doesn’t seem inviting, the classes offer vital and professional information that’s broken down in simple terms,” said Ferguson. “Students gain valuable insight about how to “WOW” the customer.”

Taught by Ferguson and Dining Services Office Manager Kim Allen, the series of customer service training classes is offered twice yearly in the spring and in the fall. While taking the classes is not required of dining services employees, it is strongly encouraged. After completing the series of training classes, each staff member must complete a written exam and receives a certificate.

“The benefits of completing all six classes is being able to totally understand a customer’s concern when they’re unhappy with your service and know how to effectively resolve the issue with or without upper management,” Ferguson concluded.