Alpha Lambda Delta, an on-campus freshman honor society, participated in a service project for Hello Neighbor, a refugee organization in Pittsburgh.

The donation drive began on Nov. 1, and items were collected until Nov. 16 when ALD met for its last general meeting before the end of the semester.

“Service is an important part of our Local ALD Chapter because it is one of the values of the National Office and because it is good to give back to the community in general,” said Carrie Schubert, the ALD advisor. “This creates an incentive for members to engage in service opportunities. I think it is good for students to get involved in all forms of campus life.”

Each year, the National ALD Office selects a cause/theme for service. This year the topic was refugees.

“I asked Cassidy, our secretary, to identify local organizations that we could partner with to contribute to refugees,” Schubert said. “We found and chose Hello Neighbor, which is located in Pittsburgh. It seemed like a reputable organization, and I live close to Pittsburgh so it was easy to transport the donations.”

Hello Neighbor’s mission is to “improve the lives of recently resettled refugee and immigrant families by matching them with dedicated neighbors to guide and support them in their new lives.”

Rebekah Schrack, the Social Media Chair for ALD PennWest California, promoted the drive on the ALD’s Instagram page, @pennwestcal.ald, reminding members of the drive and including the list of items that were recommended.

“I think promoting the service project on Instagram allowed people to get more information and spread the word more easily,” Schrack said. “It’s easy to miss an email or just forget, but when posted on Instagram and reposted on the Instagram story, it’s going to get more attention.”

During the ALD’S meeting, members gathered and totaled the number of items collected during a packing party. Members could get one service hour for bringing in five items, with a maximum of 30 items for six service hours. In addition, members who participated in the packing party could gain an additional hour of service towards their ALD cords.

“I think it helped us realize that being able to give to the community is a blessing in

itself,” said a participant of the packing party, Madison Beckett. “Not everyone is fortunate enough to have extra to give, but those who are fortunate have the opportunity to bless another household with items that they may not think twice about having.”

The members of ALD gathered approximately 362 items for Hello Neighbor, which included items such as pots and pans, mixing/serving bowls, kitchen utensils, can openers, pressure cookers, water filter pitchers, electric/stovetop tea kettles, Tupperware, aluminum foil, sharp kitchen knife sets, cutting boards, strainers, dish towels, oven mitts, packages of toilet paper, bath towels, hand towels, shower curtains, bath mats, plungers, toilet brushes, hand

soaps, all-purpose cleaning spray, dish soap, laundry detergent, sponges/cleaning rags, paper towels, kitchen/bathroom waste baskets, trash bags, light bulbs, mops, brooms and dustpans, tissue boxes, and all-purpose wipes.

Hello Neighbor’s volunteer coordinator, Aubrey Parke, helped ALD plan the service project.

“Donation drives like ALD’s allow us (Hello Neighbor) to furnish apartments more affordably, meaning that we can put money from our tight resettlement budget back into families’ pockets instead of using it to purchase curtains, bedding, dishes, etc.,” Parke said. “Volunteers support all of Hello Neighbors programming in a wide variety of ways.”