A $5,000 gift. Thousands of donated food items. A collection effort that extends into the heart of downtown Norfolk.
For community partners supporting Old Dominion University’s Monarchs Give Back effort, giving back doesn’t look the same for everyone.
The Cosmopolitan Club of Norfolk, Aramark and Downtown Norfolk Council are among the organizations supporting this year’s campaign, each using its own resources and reach to help address food insecurity among ODU students and Norfolk Public Schools families.
Launched in 2022, Monarchs Give Back is an annual University-wide campaign that brings together students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners to collect food and financial donations for ODU students through the Monarch Pantry and Norfolk Public Schools students and families. Since its inception, the effort has provided more than 225,000 food items to those in need.
The need is especially significant in Norfolk, where approximately one in four children faces food insecurity, according to Greater Hampton Roads Community Indicators.
While businesses and organizations across Hampton Roads have participated in Monarchs Give Back, these three Norfolk partners demonstrate how community involvement can take different forms, from financial support and large-scale food donations to creating opportunities for others to give.
Giving Through Philanthropy
The Cosmopolitan Club of Norfolk has spent decades supporting efforts to improve health in the community. When its members learned about Monarchs Give Back, they saw a connection to work they were already doing.
The club, one of Norfolk's oldest service organizations, donated $5,000 to the campaign.
Known as "the organization that fights diabetes," the Cosmopolitan Club has supported Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University and the Strelitz Diabetes Center since the 1970s, contributing more than $1 million.
Mike O'Toole, the club's president, said the connection between nutrition and long-term health made Monarchs Give Back a good fit for the organization.
"Access to healthy meals provides the foundation for lifelong health and success," he said. "We hope this donation helps ensure that students and families have access to the nutritious food they need, allowing them to focus on learning, growing, and building healthy futures."
Making Support Routine
For Aramark, supporting Monarchs Give Back has become part of its annual work at ODU.
The University's dining partner has donated thousands of food items each year since the campaign began, along with bags and other supplies used to collect and distribute donations.
This year, Aramark contributed 10,000 cans of food. The company also partnered with the Blue Crown Society and Student and Campus Life for Fall Feast at Broderick Dining Commons, where members of the ODU community were encouraged to contribute.
Kate Ali, marketing manager for Monarch Dining Services, said the company's commitment comes from its close ties to the University and the people who live in Norfolk.
"The Norfolk community is our community," Ali said. "Many of our team members live and work here, and we serve ODU students every day. We hope this donation helps ease the burden on local families and provides support during a time when food costs continue to rise."
The campaign's connection to Norfolk Public Schools is particularly meaningful to Ali.
"We are feeding possible future Monarchs as well," she said.
Reaching Beyond Campus
At Selden Market in downtown Norfolk, Monarchs Give Back is reaching people who might not otherwise encounter the effort.
Downtown Norfolk Council (DNC), a nonprofit membership organization that supports downtown businesses, residents and visitors, helped establish a collection effort at the market, a retail incubator for emerging small businesses.
The location gives downtown employees, shoppers and visitors an opportunity to contribute to a campaign benefiting students and families across the city.
Kate Curley, DNC's events manager, said the organization saw the effort as another way to serve the downtown community.
“One of our core values at DNC is to serve the employees, residents, and visitors that make up our Downtown community, and the Monarchs Give Back campaign is a concrete extension of showing up for the people who make up that community,” Curley said.
A Community Effort
The contributions from the Cosmopolitan Club, Aramark and DNC are part of a larger effort involving organizations throughout Hampton Roads.
For Brandi Hephner LaBanc, Ed.D., vice president for Student and Campus Life, the variety of contributions is one of the strengths of Monarchs Give Back.
“Every organization has found a way to contribute that reflects who they are and how they serve our community,” Dr. Hephner LaBanc said. “Those relationships are what allow this effort to grow, reach more people and create connections that will continue long after this year's campaign ends.”