IU Southeast’s Spectrum club, formerly known as the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), is hosting a virtual Friendsgiving event Nov. 18 on Zoom for their annual service project.

IUS students are able to curbside pick up a care package from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m on Wednesday, if they had previously filled out the form before the deadline closed this week.

“Someone can get a basket of holiday goodies,” junior digital arts major Josiah Pohl said.

Students are able to use those holiday goodies to attend their virtual Friendsgiving movie night at 6 p.m on Wednesday. Students involved in the club volunteer in the community, and this is one part of their volunteer work which is giving out goodies to the IUS community.

Pohl said that in previous years, their Friendsgiving was more like a potluck where everyone brought food. They usually held this event in one of the classrooms on campus, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, that was put on hold.

“It is kind of like a distanced Thanksgiving,” Pohl said.

IUS Spectrum wanted to still recreate Friendsgiving, but in a safe environment.

They are encouraging more students to get involved in the spring 2021 semester and with the COVID pandemic, it has made it harder for clubs to reach out to students.

“It is kind of hard for students to know what we are doing because they can ask us in-person easier versus trying to figure out a way for them to contact us,” junior graphic design major Jeanette Hansen said. “For example, today I was at the bookstore, and there were several groups of freshmen looking around the student involvement center trying to figure out how to contact some of the organizations, and we were one of them.”

They are hoping to get more students to join in the spring semester, but they want students to be aware of one of the overall goals of this group.

“We are very welcoming. It feels like a family when you come to Spectrum,” Pohl said. “It felt like that for me definitely when I came in two years ago as a freshman.”

Students or faculty members with questions for IUS Spectrum can send an email iusoutheastspectrum@gmail.com, or reach out to them on their Instagram or Facebook pages.