Just in time for the holidays, the Department of Public Safety is initiating a Holiday Help 2001 program designed to help people in need within and beyond the Saint Louis University community.

Members of DPS will be accepting donations beginning today through Dec. 7.

Items sought include: cash contributions, gift certificates, food items, new unwrapped toys and new clothing items for infants, children and adults. Proceeds will go toward several organizations, including:

 The campus-wide food drive

 Family Development

 DPS officers that have experienced recent personal tragedy or critical illness

 Feed My People food pantry

 The Rock Church St. Vincent de Paul food pantry

 U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots

 New York City Twin Towers Fund

Also among the recipients is a 10-year-old boy from St. Louis whose father injected him with HIV-tainted blood when he was 4 years old. DPS Captain Rick Younger said that DPS has adopted the family for the holidays, helping to raise money for gifts and other items.

“[The Holiday Help 2001’s] mission is to help people in need, from members of our department to people and organizations within the University and beyond,”

Younger said.

Through November and the first week of December, DPS officers will collect items on Mondays and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. in locations including: Georgetown parking lot, Laclede Garage, Compton-Olive Garage, Quad I, the Busch Memorial Center, the Learning Resources Center on the Health Sciences Campus and the Hickory Garage. Donations will also be accepted in DuBourg Hall, room 9.

“The events of Sept. 11 have changed our lives in many ways,” Younger said. “As a result, we as a nation have been brought closer together, our unity and resolve only strengthened. As people we have a new sense of compassion, a new perspective on how we treat one another.”