FORT MYERS, Fla. — Thanksgiving is around the corner and soon students will go home for break. However, after facing two hurricanes this season, Florida SouthWestern State College's Care and Adaptive Service department says some students don't have homes to go back to.
"Even from the start of this semester in August, from now, I've noticed probably a huge increase, not even probably, it was a huge increase in students that are coming in," said Michael Mogilevskiy, a student interning for the program.
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According to the director, the care pantry on campus has seen a 325% increase in students using the free student pantry since this time last year.
"Especially with the hurricanes that came through, we've seen an increase in need for those," said Ashley Myatt-Chisum, the director.
Myatt-Chisum says some students are even living out of their cars, which is why she says these services are crucial.
"Things have gotten expensive, and so it's helpful for students to be able to not have to stress and worry about this sort of thing that they need, a basic need that they have, so they can focus on their academics," said Myatt-Chisum.
For the first time, the FSW Foundation is giving away free basketball tickets for each donation which Matthew Karastamatis calls a win-win for the school.
"Really the need is ever growing in our pantry so, you know, it was an idea that we can really do this every year," said Karastamatis, a representative of the FSW Foundation. "It's an added bonus to be able to bring people into our beautiful arena and see our awesome teams play."
Mogilevskiy says he has seen what the free pantry has done for his peers.
"Students who may have, like, some type of relief, even if it's temporary, with, you know, grabbing food and not having to worry about being hungry for even a short period of time would definitely boost how they feel about themselves," said Mogilevskiy. "We all believe, that asking for help is a huge sign of strength, so if you're a student here on campus, know that you're not alone."
Donations can be brought to the arena until halftime on Thursday to get the free tickets.
