Canning Trip with Alpha Phi Omega By: Maria Rossi

Canning is a huge part of fundraising for THON. This year I decided I would like to host Alpha Phi Omega for a canning trip. I was very excited to have my friends come and see where I am from and meet my family and friends at home. I hosted APO for the first canning weekend and planning for canning was not an easy task. I did not realize how much work goes into planning one of these canning escapades. Organizations must get permits for each town they are canning in and then they must get permission from shops to stand in front of; this is very difficult to do from State College.

Soon we had the canning spots set and the weekend was upon us. I was so nervous people were going to get lost on the way to my house, someone would have an allergic reaction from my animals, or that the canning spots would be unavailable Saturday. But as soon as my friends arrived I felt at ease. I loved telling them about my town, school, and house. My favorite part was introducing them to my cat, Nugget. Nugget loved the attention all weekend long! Saturday was a great success! We had fabulous weather and people were supportive of our cause. On Saturday night we were in charge of making dinner for ourselves. Long story short, we burnt garlic toast and the fire alarm went off. The firemen came to our rescue and we all had a good

laugh about the little mishap! Overall I believe this weekend was a great success and I loved hosting my brothers for canning!

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