By JACKIE SHERIOD-SCOTT
As students recently returned from the Winter Holiday break, Phi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. was thrilled with the number of students that received kid friendly food items during the holidays.
Members of Phi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. embarked on what they hope will be an annual community-wide program. They decided this winter holiday to assist as many students and families with kid friendly food items for children to take home.
Studies show that many students eat their best meals during school hours. The local chapter is certainly concerned about what happens when the children are out for two weeks during the holidays. The number of children who go without adequate food is astronomical.
AKA held its first of three food drive efforts Nov. 8, 2014, at Manning IGA. Members were on hand for what became a wonderful time interacting with the delightful residents of Clarendon County.
They were amazed at the warmhearted spirits of the Clarendon County residents and other individuals from surrounding areas.
On Dec. 6, 2014, members took the challenge and staged food drive efforts at both Manning and Summerton Piggly Wiggly stores.
Members were again thrilled with the outpouring support received. One family touched our hearts with a personal story during the time at Manning Piggly Wiggly.
They informed us of their limited funds to provide food for their family. We wanted to make sure we understood their plea. We asked if they were in need of food today.
Her tearful response was, “Yes.”
I, along with members Linda Grant and Lottie Fleming, immediately gathered food items for them to take home. This was a confirmation that there is a need to aid families in Clarendon County.
Phi Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. is proud to announce it was able to provide a total of 90 bags of kid-friendly food items. The food drive items were divided equally between the three school districts: Summerton Early Childhood Center in District 1, Manning Primary School in District 2 and Walker-Gamble Elementary School in District 3.
Each school received 30 bags to distribute to students.
Individual schools identified the students they felt were most in need. The chapter’s goal was to impact as many students and families this winter holiday break as possible. We hope you will help us make this bigger and better next year.
In closing, we’d like to thank the following community partners that helped to make all of this possible: Manning IGA, Manning Piggly Wiggly, Summerton Piggly Wiggly, local newspapers, including The Manning Times and manninglive.com, family members of Phi Omega Omega chapter members, The Zone at the Cypress Center, and the staff and faculty members of the school districts mentioned.
