NCL Irvine Supports OC’s Kids

NCL members and community volunteers joined forces to feed Orange County’s children. Photo credit NCL Irvine

One in five children in the United States goes to school hungry. National Charity League’s Irvine chapter is trying to change that.

NCL Irvine held a food drive for Orange County’s neediest children on Sunday, October 17. Over 60 people volunteered before, during, and after the event from 1-4 pm at the Lakeview Senior Center. Residents and businesses in and around Irvine came together and donated generously. Smart & Final, Trader Joe’s, and Ralphs donated bags. Office Depot employees had their own food drive to contribute. A lecturer in the biology department at Cal State Fullerton, Cindy Duong, encouraged her students to donate. A former UNICEF Club adviser on campus, Duong looks for events that serve her campus and the local community.

“I know that high school students volunteer to build their college applications,” said Duong. “I wanted them to know that the volunteer work doesn't have to end when they're in college.”

Donations were sorted by volunteers, primarily NCL members, and distributed to children through the non-profit organization Blessings in a Backpack. Currently, Blessings in a Backpack serves 100-150 kids each week at Washington Elementary and Lincoln Elementary in Santa Ana. Each week Blessings in a Backpack gives children a bag of food to bring home over the weekend when they cannot be fed through their school districts.

NCL Irvine’s goal was to raise approximately one quarter of the food Blessings in a Backpack will distribute to students at Washington Elementary and Lincoln Elementary this year. They collected about 150 grocery bags worth of food, or three months of food for children who would otherwise go hungry on weekends.

Food drive organizer and NCL member Tami Hund said that donations are desperately needed, but food items must be shelf stable due to the recipients’ living conditions.

“Many of the children are living in motels and sadly do not have access to a stove or refrigerator,” explains Hund. “The food we provide needs to be shelf stable and able to be prepared in a microwave.”

Hund found deep meaning in Sunday’s event.

“This event is so much more to us than just a food drive,” said Hund. “We are providing comfort and security to children who are dealing with a level of stress no child should have to experience.”

Find more information on how to contribute to or participate with NCL Irvine online.