Residents rise to the pandemic challenge
Contributed by
National Village
Last week, the National Village Ladies Club announced the totals from their latest efforts to support the Food Bank of East Alabama. In their last drive, which ended Saturday, they collected $7,970, which will buy 55,790 meals for food insecure residents in our community.
“National Village has always been one of the top neighborhoods for food collection in this area,” said Shani White, co-chair of the Food Bank Committee. “However, we are just beyond grateful for the generosity of our neighbors during this last drive.”
A long history of giving
National Village has a long history of doing food drives throughout the year. However, with the pandemic and initial concerns about routes of transmission of the disease, the focus had to shift. “We used to collect green bags filled with canned goods from each home on designated Saturdays,” said Myra Girard, co-chair. “We quickly had to switch to a ‘Cash not Cans’ approach, and the residents really responded.” The result: the last drive culminated in this community of about 220 households donating 1,119 pounds of food and $25,045 to the Food Bank of East Alabama for 2020. That equates to 176,248 much-needed meals.
In addition to spearheading the bi-monthly food drive, the National Village Ladies Club (NVLC) also sponsors a scholarship annually for a female senior at Opelika High School, and the Club has been a much-needed source of support for Haddie’s Home and other charities. Said Becky Jones, NVLC President, “This group really is the heart of our National Village community; they constantly give their time, talents and resources. It makes me proud to live here.”