The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Staff Senate will host its annual Fall Open House on Wednesday, Dec. 5, to raise money for the holiday season for UA Little Rock families in need.

The open house will offer a reception for UA Little Rock employees to visit and network, win door prizes, use the Employee Wellness Center’s new massage chair, play board games, and bid on fun prizes in the teacup and silent auctions. Light refreshments will be served during the event. Guests are invited to bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy in fellowship with their coworkers.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Donaghey Student Center Ledbetter Hall. The open house kicks off Staff Senate’s annual Helping Hands Project. Money raised and donations of nonperishable food items collected from the open house will be used to put together holiday meal baskets for UA Little Rock applicants who would otherwise not be able to provide a traditional holiday dinner for their families.

Tickets for the teacup auction are $5 for six tickets. Participants also can receive one free auction ticket, up to a maximum of five, for every two items donated from the list of items needed to create the holiday meal baskets. Check out the items for auction. 

Items needed include stuffing mix, cornbread mix, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, macaroni and cheese, green beans, green peas, black eyed peas, corn, rice, canned potatoes, canned yams, cranberry sauce, cake mix and frosting, Kool-Aid, and nonperishable juices.

To purchase auction tickets or to donate items for the teacup auction or a door prize, contact Paula Rogers at 501-663-5541 or parogers@ualr.edu or Angie Faller at 501-916-5905 or amfaller@ualr.edu.

Donations to the Staff Senate Helping Hands Campaign can be made online by visiting the Campus Campaign website at https://ualr.edu/giving/product/campus/. Under the Fund category, click “Other” and then type in “Staff Senate” or “Helping Hands.”

In the upper right photo, UA Little Rock employees browse the teacup auction during the 2017 Staff Senate Fall Open House.