LOCK HAVEN — For the third year, all three Commonwealth University (CU) police departments at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield held a Thanksgiving Food for Fines event, in which parking tickets were forgiven in exchange for donated food items.

Between Nov. 11-22, members of the CU campus community had the opportunity to have a campus parking ticket dismissed in exchange for a donation of canned food items.

Each forgiven parking ticket required a donation of five items, resulting in the collection of 1,870 canned food items and the dismissal of 374 parking tickets across all three campuses.

At Bloomsburg, the food items were donated to the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard at Lock Haven they were donated to the Haven Cupboard and at Mansfield the Campus Cupboard and the Mansfield Food Pantry benefitted from the donations.

“The Food for Fines initiative was built from initiatives libraries use to pay off overdue book fees,” said Leo Sokoloski, director of Commonwealth University police. “This good will and charitable event was purposely performed just before Thanksgiving to collaborate with local food cupboards who daily provide food to the community and to our students. We hope it helps to foster a sense of gratitude and appreciation — encouraging people to take a moment, pause and reflect on the many blessings they have been afforded and the importance of assisting others who may not be as fortunate.”