Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. sponsors ‘We Are One MLK Day of Service’

By Felecia Piggott-Long, PhD
Members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Phi Omega Chapter put in a full day of service on Saturday, Jan. 18. The “We Are One MLK Day of Service” engaged not only Phi Omega members, but those from the Empower Our Families Committee, chaired by Nora Baker; the Gamma Lambda Chapter at Winston-Salem State University; the Pi Beta Chapter from Wake Forest University; members of the Youth Leadership Institute; Crosby Scholars; and other community volunteers as well. President Evelyn Acree expressed great joy about the work the volunteers were able to accomplish by working together in harmony.
“A wonderful day of service! Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Phi Omega Chapter started our day at Mineral Springs Elementary School packing bags with food for our international program, Childhood Hunger Initiative Power Pack (CHIPP). We distribute these bags with food every Friday for students to take home for the weekend,” President Acree said.
“We enjoyed working with the Gamma Lambda (WSSU) and Pi Beta (WFU) chapters as well as many community volunteers. With all of this help, we were able to pack enough bags for the rest of the school year in 24 minutes!”
The chairpersons of the “We Are One MLK Day of Service” are Alexus Acree and Asheena Mys Love. They were thrilled to work with such a committed group of supporters.
“Each year the members and community volunteers always support us in this initiative. We want to honor Dr. Martin Luther King. He taught that education is important, and as the students embark on the second semester of school, they will need more school supplies,” said Alexus Acree, co-chairperson of the MLK Day of Service.
Nora Baker, president of the Empower Our Families Committee, was pleased to have so many supporters who came out to load the power packs. The committee serves 45 students per week.
“We loaded 480 power packs in 24 minutes. We had 38 volunteers, including honeydews, (husbands and boyfriends) to pack the bags. The green bags were filled with shelf-sustainable milk, cans of protein such as ravioli, beef stew and chili beans, crackers, cooked vegetables in plastic cups, juice, granola bars, cookies, and various snacks. There is something in these bags for all family members,” said Baker. “Each bag is hand delivered to each student on the list. Although the student takes the bag home, the contents of the bag are disseminated to the entire family.”
Baker had to make sure the tables were set up on Friday, and she went in on Saturday morning to make sure all boxes of supplies were in place.
“I put my time in, but all of the members of Phi Omega helped to pay for the food that the families receive. Each member should be proud to know that they are making Ram power packs possible. This is a national program under our national president, Danette Anthony Reed,” said Baker.
After completing the power packs at Mineral Springs, the Youth Leadership Institute (YLT) and volunteers were prepared to receive school supplies and toiletries at the Ivy Arms Community Center. YLT is a youth-led, interactive leadership development program designed to empower and engage youth between the ages of 11-13. The new chairpersons of the group are Paula Langston-Ware and J’nai Adams. Jennifer Person has worked with the group more than a year. Langston-Ware was pleased with the work of the YLT during the We are One MLK Day of Service. The students collected, counted, and sorted the school supplies and the toiletries.
“Leadership teaches them about serving others outside of themselves. As young leaders, they are learning different skills,” Langston-Ware said. “They learn the value of working as a team, organizing skills, communication skills, tallying, totaling, and packing boxes. They learn to fill the blessing box so that others can be filled.”
The youth expressed how they felt about the service project when they wrote in their journals.
One student said, “Providing service to others makes me feel good knowing I can make a difference.”
Another student said, “When we help others, it may inspire them to help others too, which helps the community.”
“It was awesome! Definitely! It was impactful just to see the young members coming together for a common purpose. They were sharing their unity to serve others,” Person said.
“Dr. King would be well pleased. When we think of life’s most persistent question: What are you doing for others? is that question.”
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