Early this morning, Jan. 19, a group of Sweet Briar College’s faculty and staff embarked on a community service project in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and Renew America Together, a national call to community service initiated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Math professor Steve Wassell accepts a donation.From 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., volunteers stood in the traffic circle at Le Bistro, collecting items needed by The Daily Bread, a Lynchburg, Va., organization that provides more than 40,000 meals each year to the hungry. Organizers called the event “Hand Off for a Hand Up” because people could simply drive by and hand their donations to volunteers.

Volunteers took shifts in the frigid weather, collecting items from faculty and staff as they passed by on their way to work. By 8:30 a.m., the grocery store shopping cart they’d borrowed for the event had been filled numerous times. The items will be delivered to The Daily Bread later today.

Items collected included aluminum foil, divided plates, napkins, paper towels, sugar, pot and pan and laundry detergent and disposable eating utensils. Money also was donated for The Daily Bread and upcoming service projects, including helping needy area residents winterize their homes and pay heating bills.