The Honors Student Association (HSA) hosted a masquerade last Friday, Oct. 14 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Lankford Student Ballroom, allowing Longwood students to have the rare, but always excitable opportunity to dress in semi-formal attire and attend a dance. Faces for FACES was an event that created an easy venue for students to donate canned goods and monetary contributions to FACES, or Farmville Area Community Emergency Services, while being able to enjoy a night of dance and dress up. Providing a mask-making section, food and refreshments, and hiring a DJ from WMLU to provide music, Faces for FACES was a huge success with a packed house of over 170 people and a myriad of contributions from those who attended.
Sophomore and President of the HSA Haley Vest described the idea of the event, saying, "It was actually a previous president who had the kind of brainchild of the idea to possibly do a masquerade ball for the charity, but it never really got fully developed. Starting last April when I was elected president, I started planning for this. This is the accumulation of everything since April. So, it's really exciting."
Sophomore and Treasurer of the HSA Leighan Worden said, "We really like to help out there. So, we volunteer every Thursday or Saturday." She added that, "I have gone to volunteer quite a bit, and I also peer mentor this year, so I've taken my LSEM groups and other honors college LSEM groups as well."
The Faces for FACES Facebook event also informed students that, "Our goal is to collect as many items of non-perishable goods (cereal, pasta, canned goods, crackers, chips, snacks, etc.) as possible."
Vest said, "A huge, huge amount of Farmville families depend on the FACES food bank to supplement what they got to keep, especially their children from going hungry. So, what we're doing here is really providing. It's not just going to some random people or anywhere. This is helping our immediate community."
When describing the plans to organize Faces for FACES, Vest said, "It's always hard when you're doing something for the first time because there're no directions on how to do anything. We learned a lot in the process of making all the arrangements."
If disappointed that you were unable to make it to Faces for FACES, don't worry. Vest said, "We're looking to actually make it an annual event. So, now that we know how to do it, and we have decorations, we're prepared to do it for multiple years."
If unable to volunteer in person, monetary donations are another possibility to contribute to the Farmville community. "Monetary donations are really great because FACES can get one pound of meat per every ten cents donated. So, a dollar can give 10 pounds of meat, which is a really big deal for a family," Vest said.
Commenting on the amount of donations received that night, Vest said, "We wanted to get as absolutely much as possible, and then we're going to take what we make this year, and use that to set the bar higher for next year."
Senior Andrea Damiano was one of the many Longwood students who were able to enjoy the well-organized event. "This is the most people I've ever seen in a Longwood dance," she commented. Learning about the event through an email and "word of mouth," she said that she has volunteered for FACES before. "I've been there on occasion … It's a really great program that reaches a strong need that's in Farmville, a very large and unusual percentage of Farmville that is below the poverty line. And FACES really tries to reach those people and get them those supplies to live healthy and productive lives."
When asked if she would be interested in more Longwood semi-formal events, Damiano replied that, "I definitely would."
Additionally, if interested in helping out your community, check out FACES' website at facesfoodpantry.org. "FACES is currently ranked third in central Virginia (behind Richmond and Henrico Co.) in the amount of food distributed," according to the FACES website. Volunteers are accepted Fridays and Saturdays every week.
