National Student Day is recognized among college stores throughout North America as a day to promote social responsibility among students. Oct. 3 marks the third annual National Student Day and the San Diego State Bookstore is participating in the nation-wide event.

The proceeds from this event will go to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank to promote the campus initiative, Aztecs Rock Hunger.

The theme of this nationally recognized day is to positively change the community, for the simple fulfillment of being a good citizen. Students are encouraged to submit  stories online about their involvement in National Student Day to nationalstudentday.com.

Winners can receive up to $3,000 in scholarships by sharing how they are making a difference. Seven randomly selected submitters will also win a free iPad for their contributions to their community.

“As a senior, National Student Day gives me an incentive to give back to the school and projects like Aztecs Rock Hunger because of the great experiences I have had attending SDSU,” kinesiology senior Chelsea Fraser said.

In honor of National Student Day, the bookstore will have activities, deals and discounts on items ranging from clothes to computers on Oct. 3.

These deals last from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and include discounts on Aztec gear, $25 off iPads, tax-free Mac laptops and desktop computers, and free refreshments starting at 11 a.m. With each purchase, an SDSU Sleep With a Purpose blanket is donated to a local charity. Shoppers also have the opportunity to win a blanket by entering a raffle.

“We’ve had great support the last couple of years and we’re hoping that’ll continue this year,” marketing graduate student and SDSU Bookstore Marketing Manager Ben Eisenstein said.

When National Student Day first started in 2011, Aztec Shops put together a competition to see how many community service hours students could serve in the community. The first year, 156 SDSU students participated in the competition and by last year that number was up to 277, with more than 1,400 community service hours logged, Eisenstein said.

Because September is a busy time for many students, the community service competition is no longer a school-wide competition but can still be entered nationally.

“This year we wanted to change it up a little bit. We’re going to make it simple, have a huge sale and donate a portion of that to Aztecs Rock Hunger,”  Eisenstein said. “Our goal is to donate 10,000 pounds worth of food through our donation.”

According to Eisenstein, to make this happen, five percent of every sale is donated to Aztecs Rock Hunger, Eisenstein said.

“It’s important to give back and increasingly students, particularly at SDSU, want to give back to the community and Aztec Shops wants to help them do that,” Eisenstein said.

Update: This story has been edited to correct Ben Eisenstein’s name. The Daily Aztec apologizes for this error.