Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Now More Than Ever, Cats for Cans is Counting on K-State Family
Oct 16, 2020 | Baseball, General, Sports Extra
The question is an easy one for Luke Hauswirth, a hanging curveball dropped right over the plate.
With the insanely busy schedule of a D1 student-athlete, why is Cats for Cans a community service event worth making time for?
"Our name is directly attached to it," the K-State pitcher said. "It's at the football game, SAAC puts it together so it's all student-athletes and I think that's why it's important to us. Our hand is in this one."
Hauswirth is helping lead one of the most long-standing community service events at K-State in a year when the mission behind Cats for Cans is more important than ever.
Every October, the K-State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) holds the annual drive to fight hunger in the Manhattan and Riley County community and benefit the Flint Hills Breadbasket.
This year, a COVID 19-adjusted Cats for Cans drive will continue through October 24.
Maribeth Kieffer is Executive Director of the Breadbasket and a veteran of Cats for Cans drives over the last decade.
"We've seen a lot of people that have had their hours cut back or lost their job when everything shut down," Kieffer said. "But many of those clients were already coming in because they worked low-paying jobs here in Manhattan."
Kieffer said that about one in four Manhattan residents are living below the federal poverty line in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the number of community members facing food insecurity as the holiday season begins.
Student-athletes like Hauswirth have been undeterred by the unique circumstances facing Cats for Cans in 2020.
The senior leads the Community Outreach subcommittee on SAAC and was a recipient of the Outstanding Service to the Community Award at the 2020 Powercat Choice Awards.
"I just wanted to find a different way to get involved as a student-athlete," Hauswirth. "The awesome thing about Cats for Cans is that every single donation goes straight to Flint Hills Breadbasket."
Hauswirth said his favorite aspect of the event is that Cats for Cans benefits an organization that can help Manhattan residents through any of the challenges impacting the community.
"They can help anybody. Right now, we have the pandemic going on and a lot of people are struggling paycheck to paycheck. Donations are going straight to something like that," Hauswirth said. "In the past, we had some floods and they helped out those individuals."
One of the signature elements of Cats for Cans is the Saturday morning when student-athletes hop between football tailgates at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and collect donations.
Social distancing has ruled that out this year, but there are still plenty of ways for fans to donate. K-State fans can bring non-perishable and cash donations to next Saturday's game against Kansas, where bins will be available around Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Hauswirth said that a partnership with Dillons and Hy-Vee will also allow fans to donate at grocery stores throughout Manhattan this year, at Hy-Vee, Dillons East and Dillons West.
"Tailgating is usually where we get all of our donations, so we're really pushing supermarkets," Hauswirth. "All of the teams are also collecting, and we have bins our locker rooms."
An organization like Flint Hills Breadbasket that can handle thousands of pounds in donations might bring to mind a small army of office and warehouse staff, but that's misleading.
This year, Flint Hills Breadbasket has three full-time employees.
"The volunteers and the donors are what keep Flint Hills Breadbasket going," Kieffer said. "We couldn't do this without them."
Flint Hills Breadbasket operates without federal, state or local tax dollars and has seen many other fundraising events postponed due to COVID-19 precautions. Originally run out of a shed with a dirt floor, the Breadbasket has grown to meet the needs of the Manhattan community.
That community has responded to help the organization through the challenges of 2020.
"You can look on Facebook or our website for a list of items that we need," Kieffer said. "Some donors prefer to give food or the cash to buy the food. There's no right or wrong way to donate…I'll just be at all the stores buying what we need to finish it up."
Kieffer said she's been humbled by the generosity of Manhattan residents this year and is hopeful that Cats for Cans will help the Breadbasket navigate the holiday season.
In addition to the bins at next Saturday's football game and local supermarkets, K-State fans can also make a cash donation on the Breadbasket website.
For Hauswirth and countless other student-athletes, Cats for Cans is as simple as giving back to the community that makes playing college sports in Manhattan such a unique experience.
"I think having something where you're like 'I'm helping my neighbor,' that's why it's been such a big success," Hauswirth said. "I can help this community that's helped me so much in my life."
With the insanely busy schedule of a D1 student-athlete, why is Cats for Cans a community service event worth making time for?
"Our name is directly attached to it," the K-State pitcher said. "It's at the football game, SAAC puts it together so it's all student-athletes and I think that's why it's important to us. Our hand is in this one."
Hauswirth is helping lead one of the most long-standing community service events at K-State in a year when the mission behind Cats for Cans is more important than ever.
Every October, the K-State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) holds the annual drive to fight hunger in the Manhattan and Riley County community and benefit the Flint Hills Breadbasket.
This year, a COVID 19-adjusted Cats for Cans drive will continue through October 24.
CATS FOR CANS is back! 🥫 🥫😼😼 pic.twitter.com/7JBAhzTBon
— K-State Student-Athletes (@kstate_athletes) October 1, 2020
Maribeth Kieffer is Executive Director of the Breadbasket and a veteran of Cats for Cans drives over the last decade.
"We've seen a lot of people that have had their hours cut back or lost their job when everything shut down," Kieffer said. "But many of those clients were already coming in because they worked low-paying jobs here in Manhattan."
Kieffer said that about one in four Manhattan residents are living below the federal poverty line in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased the number of community members facing food insecurity as the holiday season begins.
Student-athletes like Hauswirth have been undeterred by the unique circumstances facing Cats for Cans in 2020.
The senior leads the Community Outreach subcommittee on SAAC and was a recipient of the Outstanding Service to the Community Award at the 2020 Powercat Choice Awards.
"I just wanted to find a different way to get involved as a student-athlete," Hauswirth. "The awesome thing about Cats for Cans is that every single donation goes straight to Flint Hills Breadbasket."
Hauswirth said his favorite aspect of the event is that Cats for Cans benefits an organization that can help Manhattan residents through any of the challenges impacting the community.
"They can help anybody. Right now, we have the pandemic going on and a lot of people are struggling paycheck to paycheck. Donations are going straight to something like that," Hauswirth said. "In the past, we had some floods and they helped out those individuals."
One of the signature elements of Cats for Cans is the Saturday morning when student-athletes hop between football tailgates at Bill Snyder Family Stadium and collect donations.
Social distancing has ruled that out this year, but there are still plenty of ways for fans to donate. K-State fans can bring non-perishable and cash donations to next Saturday's game against Kansas, where bins will be available around Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Hauswirth said that a partnership with Dillons and Hy-Vee will also allow fans to donate at grocery stores throughout Manhattan this year, at Hy-Vee, Dillons East and Dillons West.
"Tailgating is usually where we get all of our donations, so we're really pushing supermarkets," Hauswirth. "All of the teams are also collecting, and we have bins our locker rooms."
🚨Less than 2 weeks to go for #CATSFORCANS !!🥫 Keep donating! Link in bio 👌🏽 #GoCats @KStateFB @BrockMonty10 pic.twitter.com/t94EtJ40vl
— K-State Student-Athletes (@kstate_athletes) October 14, 2020
An organization like Flint Hills Breadbasket that can handle thousands of pounds in donations might bring to mind a small army of office and warehouse staff, but that's misleading.
This year, Flint Hills Breadbasket has three full-time employees.
"The volunteers and the donors are what keep Flint Hills Breadbasket going," Kieffer said. "We couldn't do this without them."
Flint Hills Breadbasket operates without federal, state or local tax dollars and has seen many other fundraising events postponed due to COVID-19 precautions. Originally run out of a shed with a dirt floor, the Breadbasket has grown to meet the needs of the Manhattan community.
That community has responded to help the organization through the challenges of 2020.
"You can look on Facebook or our website for a list of items that we need," Kieffer said. "Some donors prefer to give food or the cash to buy the food. There's no right or wrong way to donate…I'll just be at all the stores buying what we need to finish it up."
Kieffer said she's been humbled by the generosity of Manhattan residents this year and is hopeful that Cats for Cans will help the Breadbasket navigate the holiday season.
In addition to the bins at next Saturday's football game and local supermarkets, K-State fans can also make a cash donation on the Breadbasket website.
For Hauswirth and countless other student-athletes, Cats for Cans is as simple as giving back to the community that makes playing college sports in Manhattan such a unique experience.
"I think having something where you're like 'I'm helping my neighbor,' that's why it's been such a big success," Hauswirth said. "I can help this community that's helped me so much in my life."
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