Purdue Raises More than 50,000 Meals in 3 Years Thanks to 'Caleb the Elf' Promo
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Caleb Furst's willingness to dress up and act like the character "Buddy" from the Christmas movie Elf really paid off. Not only did Furst become a fan favorite by participating, he helped raise a ton of food over the last three years.
On Sunday, Purdue hosted its "Food Drive" game, in which fans would received a "Caleb the Elf" poster in exchange for five canned food items. It was a major success again this year, with fans brining non-perishable food items to Mackey Arena by the bagful.
Food donations from today (not sure if this was all) pic.twitter.com/MFlZ1Jji57
— Dustin Schutte (@SchutteDustin) December 8, 2024
After this year's donations were counted, Purdue announced that fans helped donate nearly 40,000 pounds of food for Food Finders, a local food bank, over the past three years. That resulted in more than 50,000 meals for local families in need.
Purdue has been promoting Furst as "Buddy" since his sophomore year (2022-23 season).
Simply incredible.
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) December 10, 2024
Almost 20 tons of food and over 50,000 meals donated the last three years to help local families during the Holiday season.
👏👏👏 Thank you Boiler Nation! pic.twitter.com/HorpQtQ8QI
With Furst graduating after this season, it will be the last time fans get to see him play the beloved "Buddy" character. But don't worry, the legend will live forever.
This week, Purdue put together every clip that Furst filmed over the last three years, creating a short "Caleb the Elf" movie. Here's the video Purdue put together for fans to enjoy this holiday season, and in the future.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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