With the current economic situation our island is going through, many students find it hard to sustain themselves daily. Thankfully, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez students can calm their worries. “Come Colegial” is a student initiated movement that helps other University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez students have a warm lunch or dinner each day.
Her Campus-UPRM sat down with the mastermind behind this organization, Fabiola Medina, third year biology major who dreams of becoming a psychiatrist. The idea for “Come Colegial” sprouted in April 2014 when various anonymous posts on the “Confesiones UPRM” Facebook page appeared. These posts talked about how some colegiales were unable to eat for days because of their lack of resources. These students are also unable to hold a job due to the heavy weight of their studies, while being completely independent.
With the assistance of Lucy Serrano, an administrative official at the Graduate Studies Office at UPRM, Fabiola and other volunteers have been able to collect donations from professors, administration, and other students wanting to help those in need. Donations come in the form of checks, food products easy to cook, and even lunch parties for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The organization also hosts different events to raise funds.
Currently, “Come Colegial” helps over 50 students and provides them with meals. Recyclable bags are handed out during food drives or when the students are lacking of a specific product, but all with restrictions to create an even playing field. The UPRM community’s reaction towards this movement has been a positive one and the traffic of products has escalated enormously in a matter of four weeks.
“Come Colegial” is always open for donations and hope that their efforts are able to make a change in the community.
If you would like to know more about this organization and their activities, please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/comecolegial
If you would like to donate, “Come Colegial” loves to receive these specific products:
*All photos were taken from Come Colegial’s Facebook page.