LDF Tribal member organizes food drive

LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wi. — AmeriCorps VISTA member Abbey Thompson, serving at Northwoods Niijii Enterprise Community’s Woodland Art Initiatives Project organized a food drive on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

With the assistance of about 24 volunteers, over 345 lbs of food, additional laundry items, and monetary donations for Haiti were collected.  The donations went to the Lakeland Area Food Pantry, the Lac du Flambeau Domestic Violence Shelter, and Yele Haiti .  The drive was held at the Mikadawabo Coffee Emporium and featured live music and door prizes.

Twenty students from 6th – 8th  grades at the Lac du Flambeau Elementary School comprised the majority of volunteers.  A branch food drive was held at the school, with items brought to the school on Friday, January 14th and collected at the end of the school day.

Thompson spoke at the school twice that week about Martin Luther King Jr., and the National Day of Service.  “I was curious to find out what the students knew about the civil rights icon, and to inform them about the National Day of Service on the federal holiday honoring his legacy”  she said.  “Gerri Ambrosio- who was the school contact person for this project- was a teacher when I was a student at the school so I was not surprised to learn that the kids knew a LOT about Dr. King.  Ambrosio is one of those teachers that makes you want to learn more about the world, other cultures and places.”

The directors of the food pantry were grateful for the donations and media coverage received.  Thompson would like to organize more food drives and volunteer projects with student participants.

Poverty and unemployment are very high in Lac du Flambeau (12.1% and 9.8% respectively)– an Ojibwe reservation of 2200 tribal members living within the borders.  Students participating in the food drive were genuinely concerned and very interested in helping alleviate some of these problems and improving their community.

The event received extensive media coverage locally, regionally, and nationally as part of the story was featured in the top story of Friday, January 14 on Nick News With Linda Ellerbee on the Nickelodeon Network.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 11:07 pm and is filed under LDF Grade School, Tribal Businesses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.