The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted their first CHIPP Drive with the Zeta Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (AKA) on Fri., Dec. 12. Students donated food to children in need.
BSU members brought in items like chips, Pop Tarts, oatmeal, mac and cheese, Chef Boyardee, fruit snacks and fruit cups. The items were put into bags to be distributed to children, with over 200 bags taken to Tamarac, Coral Springs, James Hunt and Village elementary schools.
Senior and BSU president Elayna Haynes is connected to AKA as her mom is a member and coordinated the partnership to make the event happen. Through club sponsors Alexzandria Mighty’s and Calvin Lamar’s collaboration, BSU received approval from the school’s administration. This event has been in production since last year.
“Seeing how the Divine 9 [a collection of the nine black fraternities and sororities that form the National Pan-Hellenic Council] is rooted in Black history, it was important that our members of BSU could get a glimpse into what D9 truly encompasses,” Haynes said. “Community is all about bringing people together no matter where they come from or how they look, so I hope that the school community can come together and reflect that definition.”
BSU members who donated items received a maximum of 10 service hours. Members also helped run the drive after school. They collaborated for the packing pantry event, where students put together bags including two breakfast items, two lunch items, four snack items and a beverage each.
“Being able to help out for an important cause is something that I wish to contribute more to at MSD, and I was glad to be able to experience that through BSU,” junior Arianna Waca said.
BSU plans on continuing the drive in Jan. and April of this school year. In the future, BSU wishes to collaborate with AKA long term for future events.
“I hope this event inspires more students and organizations to get involved in service. By creating consistent opportunities like this, we build a culture of compassion and leadership. Our goal is to show that young people can lead impactful initiatives and that small actions, like donating food items, can make a huge difference,” Mighty said.
BSU has been working towards becoming a more active club this year, hosting more frequent general meetings and providing more community service opportunities. Continuing the CHIPP drive long term is just one of the ways the club is pursuing more community service initiatives.
