By Zeid Awawdeh, Alpha Phi Nu Vice President of Scholarship and lead on the Honors in Action project
Craven Community College Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), Alpha Phi Nu Chapter planned a Foster Care Donation Drive to empower foster children in Craven County. Foster children are often in challenging and traumatic experiences and are required to constantly adjust to the various homes they are placed within. These children are also frequently missing a sense of belonging and lack the motivation to work towards their futures. Alpha Phi Nu performed research and strategized on what efforts can be made to establish resilience and a sense of comfort for foster children in our community. PTK advisors and officers worked with representatives at the HOPE family resource center and various departments at Craven Community College to coordinate a successful drive. The Donation Drive consisted of a competition where participants could sign up as groups for the chance of winning a free Dunkin’ breakfast. Through a fun and competitive nature, many foster-care-specific donations such as duffle bags, clothing, hygiene items, and other necessities were contributed towards Alpha Phi Nu’s cause. With the help of our Craven Community College family, 2332 items were donated to the Craven HOPE Family Resource Center. Winners for the Foster Care Donation Drive included the Early Childhood team, the IE Team/Data Denizens, and the Hearts & Sciences team. Honorable mentions go to participating groups including the Academic Support Center Team, the Phi Theta Kappa Officer team, the Teaching Assistants team, the Center for Teaching and Learning team, and the Executive Leadership Team. On behalf of the Alpha Phi Nu Chapter, we want to give a big THANK YOU to all the teams’ contributions - YOU made PTK Alpha Phi Nu’s mission to empower, develop resilience, and encourage the storytelling of Craven County’s Foster Children possible.