By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
The tenet of ‘CommUniversity’ was in action on the campus of Alabama State University on July 23 as the University’s Student Government Association (SGA) and ASU’s Royal Court joined with a local non-profit and religious organizations to provide much-needed free school supplies to area Montgomery Public Schools (MPS) students. ASU students distributed backpacks filled to the brim with binders, pencils, pens, paper, crayons, colored pencils and more, as part of “ASU’s Back-to-School Giveaway.”
SGA President Jeremi Moore and his team collaborated with Miss Alabama State University Aleah Robinson; local non-profit Universal Connections and Hilliard Chapel AME Zion Church and the Lay Council of the AME Zion Church in an inspired effort to offer supplies to MPS students who otherwise might not have had all of what they needed to start the new school year.
“The SGA leadership and the University’s Royal Court came together and thought it was important to create and put forth a meaningful initiative to positively impact our local youth at the beginning of the new school year…and we all came together to host an event on campus which would help many Montgomery families obtain free back-to-school supplies for their children,” said Moore; himself a native of Montgomery.
FAMILIES STRETCHED ACROSS THE ASU STADIUM’S PARKING LOT
The event was scheduled for 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the ASU Stadium’s parking lot, but due to the large initial turnout at the event’s start, more than 230 supply-filled backpacks were given to MPS students within the first 30 minutes.
“We were very pleased with the huge local response for our free school supply giveaway, but also desirous of next time wanting to give away even more items because of the overflow of families that we could not accommodate at that time,” Moore reflected.
The vast majority of the funds used to purchase the backpacks and school supplies came from the personal donations of ASU students, as well as from the AME Zion church organizations and the non-profit Universal Connections.
MISS ASU BELIEVES GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY IS IMPORTANT
The Back-to-School Giveaway aligns directly with the CommUniversity anchor of ASU’s 2030 Strategic Plan. CommUniversity is a term adopted by President Quinton T. Ross, Jr., in the initial days of his tenure and is a proactive initiative that fosters and strengthens the University’s relationships and partnerships with local, national and global “communities.
Miss ASU says she’s proud of the student’s efforts to advance ASU’s CommUniversity goals.
“We know how it feels to be a student and to need things…and engaging in our community is what we are trying to do as student leaders,” said Miss ASU.
