Jan. 18, 2017
The Monogram Club is proud to announce its second annual partnership with Coach Lou Holtz (honorary) and the Lou’s Lads Notre Dame Bread of Life Food Drive. The Bread of Life Food Drive (BOLD) is an annual event started in 1992 by the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island.
The unique feature of this initiative is that the Bread of Life Food Drive is held in the spring, a time of year when food pantries have been depleted of food donations made during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Since the spring of 2014, the Bread of Life/Lou’s Lads Food Drive has grown from 35 cities to 156 cities and over 350,000 items of food have been collected for people in need. Over the past year the Monogram Club has engaged its members to address the issue of hunger in America. Involvement with the Bread of Life/Lou’s Lads Food Drive will help the Club further that mission.
Participation in the food drive is very easy to do. We are asking our members to collect non-perishable food items and deliver them to a local food pantry in their community. To assist with the collection of non-perishable food items, the Bread of Life/Lou’s Lads Food Drive will mail you a “Coach Holtz Shopping Bag” to collect items of food and deliver them to a food pantry or shelter in your area.
To become engaged in this effort, please reach out to Joe Delaney at jodelaney@deloitteretired.com. Joe is the director of the Bread of Life Food Drive for the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island and also serves as the executive director of the ND Bread of Life/Lou’s Lads Food Drive nationwide. Joe will be delighted to answer any questions you may have about how to participate in this effort, either as an individual member of the Monogram Club or engaging fellow ND alumni or friends of the University in this effort.
Finally, we are targeting the weekend of April 7-9 as the “Bread of Life Weekend” when Monogram Club members will join with ND alumni clubs and friends of the University across America in collecting and delivering items of food to people in need. However, if you cannot participate in the Bread of Life Food Drive that weekend, then kindly make your donation of food to a local pantry any weekend in April, May or June.
Last year, numerous Monogram Club members participated in BOLD/LL’s Food Drive. Here are some thoughts on their experiences:
“The Bread of Life Food Drive was a meaningful experience for both myself and my son. Not only did it give my son a leadership opportunity to give back to his local community, but it was special that BOLD had a connection with Notre Dame and Coach Holtz. My son knows of my love of Notre Dame and my admiration for Coach Holtz, and he enjoyed experiencing both for himself.”
Haley Scott DeMaria (’95, swimming)
Monogram Club president 2013-15
“Having had the unique experience of playing football for Coach Holtz at Notre Dame as well having served on the board of directors of the Monogram Club and on the board of the Lou’s Lads Foundation (LLF), I feel so fortunate to be associated with organizations such as BOLD/LLF that exemplify the values of Notre Dame. The BOLD spring food drives, which are organized by Monogram Club members, alumni and former players of Coach Holtz, are now global, showing our commitment as a family to help others.”
Tom Galloway (’87, football)
Monogram Club board member 2007-14
“The BOLD challenges us to answer Christ’s call to feed the hungry in our communities. Thanks to the kind support of local mothers in the Michiana Moms Group, we were able to help re-stock our local food banks in South Bend. Wherever our post-collegiate adventures have taken us, we Monogram Club members can continue to make a difference by participating in the Bread of Life Food Drive.”
Heidi Witte (’09, cross country/track)
“Inspired by Notre Dame’s mission of service and having a strong affinity to their culture, the EnCore employees came out in full strength to support the Bread of Life/Lou’s Lads Food Drive surpassing our BOLDest expectations! We encourage all Monogram Club members to become involved in this rewarding experience.”
Tom McFarland (’86, soccer)
CEO of EnCore Interiors, Inc.