Community

Service –Season of Giving

Baltimore (MD) Alumni

By: Tyrell Snape

Community Service – Season of Giving

The Baltimore (MD) Alumni Chapter, in partnership with Brother Senator Antonio Hayes, was active throughout the 2022 holiday season, supporting the mission of giving back to the community with a series of activities: Thanksgivings For All, Turkey Giveaway, Book Drive/Reading Day, and Toy Drive

Thanksgivings For All

On Sunday, November 13, 2022, the chapter kicked off the holiday season with the Annual “Thanksgiving For All.” Brothers and silhouettes came out to spend the afternoon spreading good cheer and serving a holiday feast for over 200 residents at City View at McCulloh Homes, 501 Dolphin St, Baltimore, MD 21217 Special thanks to Brother Brandon Wylie and Wylie Funeral Home and Fleurs d’Ave Floral Boutique for their support and generosity in sponsoring the event.

Book Drive/Reading Day

Baltimore (MD) Alumni partnered with the women of Baltimore Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, to facilitate the provisioning 1,600 books for nine schools.

On Wednesday, November 30, 2022, the chapter picked up and delivered 370 books to the Creative Charter School, 100 to Empowerment Academy, and 160 to Sandtown Winchester Elementary School in Baltimore, MD.

Toy Drive

To close out 2022, the Kappa League took the lead and stepped up to assist Senator Antonio Hayes with his Holiday Toy Drive. On Thursday, December 15th, the young men helped with sign-in, directing people to the food area, and toy collection.

Thanksgiving BasketsSamuel P. Massie Academy

Annapolis (MD) Alumni

By: Ronald Stokes Sr

On Monday, November 21, 2022, the Brothers of Annapolis (MD) Alumni were joined by two lovely ladies of Delta Sigma Theta for our chapter's annual distribution of Thanksgiving Baskets at the Samuel P Massie Academy in Forestville, MD. The school is named after our beloved Laurel Wreath recipient and Dr. Samuel P Massie Before transitioning into the Chapter Invisible, Dr. Massie was an Annapolis (MD) Alumni member. We're sure Dr. Massie is smiling upon us from that Golden Shore Thanks to Brother Gregory Browne for coordinating this annual community service event

Sigma Gamma Rho Sneaker Ball

Annapolis (MD) Alumni

By: Ronald Stokes Sr

On December 3, 2022, the Nupes of the Annapolis (MD) Alumni Chapter came out strong to party with the lovely ladies of Sigma Gamma Rho at their Sneaker Ball scholarship fundraiser at the Jockey Club at the Laurel, MD Racetrack. All had BIG FUN.

Kappa Training Young Aviators

Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) Alumni

By: Jaret Lloyd

The Guide Right committee of the Alexandria Fairfax (AF) Alumni Chapter could not have thought of a better idea to extend their STEM awareness program by exposing our students to aviation Understanding we had ten aviators in the Chapter and had existing STEM programs, the Chapter reached out to a local nonprofit we had supported in the past and sought a grant for flight simulators and professional instruction Alas The AF Aviation Program was cleared for flight.

During the Chapter Planning Retreat in August 2019, Brothers Ken Bynum, Neicko Williams, and Kendall White launched the idea of a training lab for aviation Williams and White are aviators The Chapter thought it was a great idea but needed to have the funds set aside. A chance meeting with the Board Chair of the Northern Virginia Urban League led to a grant they were holding for STEM programs for children. They accepted our application, and the Chapter obtained the equipment and instructors. The initial session occurred at our facility in February 2020, when almost twenty students showed up with their parents. A week later, the global pandemic was upon us Like everyone else, we pivoted to continue the aviation program virtually.

Our first cohort consisted of 14 students who learned every phase of aviation, from equipment, aircraft controls, aeronautics, meteorology, flight systems, mapping, and safety. After the Spring 2021 session, we took the students to the local airfield, where they flew a Cessna airplane. Thirty minutes in the co-pilot seat and thirty minutes in the back seat observing their colleague When they landed on the tarmac, everyone saw that their lives had changed forever. In Spring 2022, we again took ten students to the local airfield for flights in the Cessna. Students range from the 4th to the 11th grade.

Since 2020 we have had six cohorts, including an extensive three-day Summer Aviation Kamp We are led in instruction by Admiral Arthur Johnson, a retired Naval aviator.

In the Fall of 2022, we launched our first inschool program at the Patrick Henry School in Alexandria, Virginia There we mentor ten middle school boys in aviation We have one session per month on the third Saturday morning of each month We have two simulators permanently housed at the school The plan is to take those boys flying in the Spring of this year before school is out.

Two of our students have taken our introduction to aviation to the next level. Guy Levis Grant awardee Samuel Boyd’s son, Levi, founded a fight school in Mississippi in the Summer of 2022. He applied and later attended, was voted their top student, and flew his first solo flight – at the ripe old age of 17. Eli flew an airplane before he got a driver’s license to drive a car Another student found a similar aviation program in Michigan.

We have found that there is a tremendous interest in aviation among youth. The field involves all aspects of STEM and aligns with our similar Guide Right initiatives The parents love the progress their children are making in school and attribute their success, in part, to the program Funding continues to come from various sources. Our short-term goal is to obtain a full-sized state-of-the-art flight simulator we can place in the facility where advanced students can earn credit for fight training hours toward their license

Above all, the brothers in the Chapter have stepped up to assist in all aspects Brothers supervise sessions, help to obtain grants, and assist in all ways. It is excellent for the Brotherhood

We look forward to continuing to serve the community through aviation training for a long time.

Feeding 600 families for Thanksgiving!

Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) Alumni

By: Jaret Lloyd

On November 19, 2022, the Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. led a community of volunteers to feed 600 families during the annual Northern Virginia Project GiveBack, held at Gum Springs Community Center in Alexandria, VA. Project GiveBack has been operating for nearly 30 years, with Thanksgiving food distributions occurring in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Alexandria, and Fairfax, VA The AlexandriaFairfax (VA) Alumni Chapter started this effort at their fraternity house in 2009. In 2009, we could only feed about 50 families Since then, we have grown the committee to include volunteers from the Divine 9 Greek organizations and local community leaders to identify needy families. Over the years, the Divine 9 members have called Northern Virginia Project GiveBack the second Homecoming because of the volunteers' jovial atmosphere.

This year, Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) raised over $30K to provide food boxes to families for Thanksgiving Additionally, over 250 volunteers were on hand to assemble and distribute the 600 Food boxes The food boxes featured frozen turkeys, fresh vegetables, stuffing mix, ground turkey, chicken breasts, fish filets, and gift cards. The Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) Alumni Chapter also packed two U-Hauls full of food boxes and made personal deliveries to several families.

The Alexandria-Fairfax (VA) Alumni Chapter invited the Fairfax County Health Department to participate in the event. Volunteers with the Fairfax County Health Department’s Stronger2 initiative were also on-hand to help measure the local community's health needs in the neighborhood Stronger2 aims to improve health literacy among African-American, African, and Hispanic communities.

Community Day

Upper Marlboro/ Waldorf (MD) Alumni

By: Gregory Robinson

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, the Upper Marlboro/ Waldorf (MD) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, in partnership with the Nu Zeta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, participated in Community Day at Indian Head Elementary school. The day was a good time for all with the following activities: face painting, fire truck tours, line dancing, great food, and games. Local partners provided free diapers, health screenings, bags of healthy food, and gift cards to families to purchase nutritious meals

Holiday Helper Association Donation

Fort Lee (VA) Alumni

By: Darrick Brown