Here at Howard Community College, we place a strong focus on being a living, breathing, helpful community. Each and every day through various events, we collectively extend our hands not only to help our peers, but to support them as well. Recently, the Student Government Association held The Dragon Diner fundraiser for the campus community. The fundraiser was centered around helping raise money for United Way of Central Maryland through a diner aesthetic, selling hamburgers, hotdogs, shakes, and root beer floats.

United Way is a campaign that embraces the ideals of philanthropy and helpful attitudes to help make lives easier for those around us who may not have the same privileges as everyone else they interact with. From households with struggling parents, families that have more trouble making ends meet, and ones that aim to give and receive the best education they can possibly get, United Way bridges the community together to create an environment where everyone can lead and live a life of hope.

The event itself was a roaring success. The food, drinks all had prices ranging from $2 to $6 and the line to the Kittleman Room expanded almost all the way across the DH building. Money was being raised for a good cause, and even with the promise of food to supplement it, people would often times stop by to leave donations solely because of the cause it supported. The donations not only helped United Way in the efforts to help communities all across central Maryland, but it also helped the students here get food for their lunches, enjoy a fun and invigorating time within the Kittleman Room, and also feel as if they are a part of the community.

While the fundraiser may have appeared hectic, crowded, and in all sorts of disarray, it was all for a good cause with a good outcome. The line stretched further than imagined and people were eager to not only get the food, but give money they knew was going to an organization that helps the community itself. People were buying the Dragon Combo for $6 at a lightning pace – selling out within less than an hour. Shifts had to be made to the menu since the event ran out of cheeseburgers, fries, and eventually hamburgers, but everyone stayed in line and still felt an urge to give.

HCC thrives off its ability to not only help the community, but also function as one. Being a community doesn’t mean we’re simply just a group of people who share a common locale, but that we are a group of people who genuinely care for the next person. That through and through, people will try to make lives easier and enjoy the company of all those involved. The Dragon Diner event showcased that throughout its entirety. Running out of ice cream to make the shakes, running out of cheeseburgers and fries entirely, and even struggling to count all of the tickets handed out – the morale around the event never ran dry. In the end, the event raised over $1000 dollars for United Way and, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we couldn’t be more thankful to have given to such a wonderful cause.