A local alumni group representing historically Black fraternities and sororities is making a difference in the fight against food insecurity in Bloomington-Normal.
The Twin City chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) brings together dozens of volunteers each month to help distribute food at a Normal food pantry.
For NPHC, also known as the Divine Nine, the event has become the group’s signature way to give back to the McLean County area, said Sylvester Davis, president of the local chapter.
“This is one of our staple events that we do for the community,” in addition to each group having its own community outreach and philanthropic efforts, he said.
A partnership between Unit 5 and Eastern Illinois Foodbank, the once-a-month pantry usually is held on a Saturday at Normal West Community High School. For several years, the site has served thousands of McLean County residents.
Dayna Brown, Unit 5’s communications and community relations director, spearheaded the partnership about five years ago. She said the pantry numbers show the need is great.
About 3,500 income-eligible residents have visited the Normal West pop-up so far this year. Brown estimates enough food to provide about 100,000 meals will have been distributed this calendar year.
That translates to about 10% of the annual output from Eastern Illinois Foodbank, a nonprofit that serves a region covering 18 counties.
Unit 5 volunteers and representatives from a number of community groups have shown up over the years to help out. Those volunteers have really helped make the pantry possible, said Brown. But sometimes, it could be unpredictable whether enough people would volunteer on a given day, she said.
But when the local chapter of NPHC decided to take this project on, providing a stable roster of volunteers, “(They) really made this their project, and they come week in, week out, and you know, help every month,” said Brown.
“The Divine Nine are a great organization and they’re always looking to help. And they just bring so many different volunteers” from the organization’s nine different chapters, she said.
The NPHC is a nearly century-old organization founded at Howard University. It collectively represents nine historically Black fraternities and sororities spread across the nation’s campuses, and those groups’ alumni members.
Unit 5 school board recognizes group's effort
The Unit 5 school board also has taken notice. Last month, it formally recognized the local group.
At the Oct. 18 meeting during the Good News reports, Brown shared how impressed Eastern Illinois Foodbank has been with the Normal program. She said staff there have told her it's one of their best organized events, and she introduced several of the Divine Nine members.
Board president Kelly Pyle thanked the group for its dedication and support of the endeavor.
Davis, a Kingsley Junior High School administrator, said the charter for the council was formed in part by the individual local chapters coming together, to answer the call for the pantry’s need for volunteers.
Davis credits former Unit 5 school board member Meta Mickens-Baker, a National Pan-Hellenic council member, for the idea.
He said Mickens-Baker wanted to expand community involvement in the volunteer roles. So, he began spreading the word among the various local fraternity and sorority chapters. As the event became more of a regular activity for members, the idea for a unified local NPHC chapter blossomed.
“We’ve been doing this for over a year because it’s something that we needed to do, and it was asked of us,” said Davis. "We just took the charge and said we’ll continue to do this.”
Volunteers transform cafeteria into one-stop shop
At the October pantry, Davis joined other volunteers moving food boxes and helping to prepare the sections before the pantry opened. An hour before the cafeteria's glass doors opened, a long line already had formed outside.
Among the crowd of community volunteers, many Divine Nine members were easy to spot — wearing sweatshirts with their fraternity or sorority letters visible.
LaWanda Pennington, a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, had a yellow Divine Nine logo on her blue sweatshirt. She regularly volunteers at this event.
In part, she comes to support the mission of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. But she also likes what’s behind the event — fighting food insecurity.
She and other volunteers set out plastic containers of fresh grapes, strawberries and other fruits. “I usually do the station for produce, or bread. Wherever (Brown) needs me — that’s where I’m going.”
Pennington said being around groceries comes naturally to her.
“I also work for Jewel-Osco. So this is kind of my comfort zone a little bit. We do a lot of donations at my job, so this is kind of part of it," she said.
Not far from the produce tables, fellow Divine Nine members Keith Baker and Ben Ryburn stood by to help patrons.
“Well, I’ve been doing this about three years. I like giving back to the community,” said Ryburn, noting he’s in the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. “I enjoy the camaraderie with the Divine Nine also. Collectively, we’re able to accomplish more as a group.”
Two Unit 5 school board members, Kentrica Coleman and Alex Williams, also are members of the organization. And several other board members have helped out at the pantry, too.
At the Oct. 28 event, Williams, who is part of Alpha Phi Alpha, and fellow board member Stan Gozur helped unpack food from cartons.
“All of the nine organizations have very similar missions and aims,” said Williams. “A big part of that is giving back to our local community. So this is an avenue where we can all come together and do good."
Phi Beta Sigma’s Michel Watkins said his favorite part of volunteering at the pantry is catching up with his fellow fraternity brothers. But, he laughs, they also keep busy working.
“We do a little bit of everything, help set up, you know. And for the last few months at least that I’ve been doing it, I’ve been helping transport goods to the automobiles,” he said.
Fellow volunteer Alton Shelvin, from Iota Phi Theta, also was working at the station where volunteers bring groceries to cars.
“When they come through the line they have whatever boxes” they might have brought, he said. “Some people even bring carts themselves. But if they don’t, we just load them up, and walk with them as they go through and make sure they get what they need.”
Volunteer Deanna Nelson from Sigma Gamma Rho said she likes talking to families as they come through. Volunteering here is a chance to give back to the community, she said.
Davis from Kingsley, and of Omega Phi Si, agreed. He said one of his goals is to help patrons of the food pantry realize everyone is in this together.
"A lot of us are just one paycheck away from being in that same situation. And if we aren't, we want to take time to be grateful, and share our time," he said.
The food pantry volunteering is personal to Davis. He said as a child, growing up in Chicago, his own family got such food assistance.
"So, it's been really important to me and my family to give back," he said.
Having Divine Nine members regularly at the pantry lets the local chapter help Bloomington-Normal, while also showing up as a group — to become more a part of the recognizable fabric of the community.
In the meantime, individual groups in the Divine Nine will continue community outreach with their pet projects. Some of those include cleaning roadside litter with the Adopt-A-Highway program, or helping distribute Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
The group’s Facebook page highlights different charitable events and programs.
But Davis and other Divine Nine volunteers said they like being familiar faces at the Normal West food pantry and providing representation at the community event.
But they also said they love how the food pantry served as a springboard for their fraternities and sororities to form the local NPHC chapter — and be collectively a more visible presence in the Bloomington-Normal community.
Another food mobile at Normal West is right around the corner. McLean County residents who meet the income guidelines can come to the school cafeteria this Saturday, Nov. 11, to receive groceries.
Unit 5’s Brown said while the Divine Nine provide a great core group of volunteers, the food pantry can always use more help.
To learn more about volunteering, or how to pre-register as a recipient, visit the Eastern Illinois Foodbank website.
