Oakdale Elementary School in Normal is hosting a food drive this weekend in partnership with the Bloomington-Normal chapters of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Eleven Oakdale families who applied for help will receive the bags of nonperishable food throughout the school year. Donated food and money will be accepted from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Of Oakdale’s 369 enrolled students, 70.2% are considered to be low-income, the highest percentage of all schools in Unit 5. The district-wide percentage is 36.5%, under the state average of 49%.
Illinois State University's Eta Alpha undergraduate chapter is partnering with the Omicron Delta Omega graduate chapter in Bloomington for thes event.
“This collaboration allowed us to work with a school close to our campus and provide resources or things that we could to students nearby,” said Anysse Evans, financial secretary and chairwoman for the Eta Alpha chapter.
Though donations will mainly be taken in the form of non-perishable goods during the event, the sorority also is accepting financial donations over social media. These donations would then be put toward either chapter buying more goods themselves.
“Anybody in the community can donate, so anybody on ISU campus, outside Bloomington-Normal, or even back at home in Chicago, and then it goes to the town here,” said Dyana Davis, president of the Eta Alpha chapter.
Alpha Kappa Alpha is a historic African American sorority that returned to ISU in 2021. Notable members include Vice President Kamala Harris, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. and three-time WNBA MVP A'Ja Wilson.
“We're helping throughout the whole semester, so it's not just a one-time thing, the food drive is spread out and we pack bags, and just every week we're going back to that school to help families,” said Davis.
She added that while right now the event will just benefit those at Oakdale, she hopes to see other schools start to benefit in the future as well.
“Overall, this event is just about supporting families and children and assessing those needs in the community,” said Evans. “If there's a need or any way we can help support we would be more than happy to be there.”
