Dear Faculty and Staff:
Through Monarchs Give Back, we have consistently and proudly united as one campus and one community to tackle food insecurity across Hampton Roads. Since this tradition of service began in 2022, our campus community has directly provided nearly 225,000 items to Old Dominion University students and Norfolk Public Schools students and their families.
Next week, I will officially launch the President's Challenge by calling on all colleges/schools, centers/departments, divisions/offices, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends to help us reach a bold goal of collecting 150,000 non-perishable food items or monetary gifts by October 30. For this year’s effort, we are already off to a strong start with over 18,000 items collected, but reaching our goal will take all of us working together.
Ways to Get Ready
This Month (August): Plan to get involved in the President’s Challenge. Research and Economic Development has won the last two years. Information will be shared next week, including details about how campaign champions can help with item collection through September 11.
Next Month (September): Campus food drives will ramp up, including home football game collections. We will also call on our corporate and community partners to join the Monarchs Give Back effort by supporting the Monarch Pantry and Norfolk Public Schools.
October: Sprint campaigns will provide a focused effort toward a strong finish to ensure that we reach or even surpass our goal!
Ways to Get Involved
Host a drive or sprint campaign: Rally your area to collect items by organizing a themed food drive collection, such as Peanut Butter for Parking, or a friendly office competition. Complete the Event/Program Form and our Monarchs Give Back campus-wide team will help you promote it.
Make a personal contribution: Choose an Amazon Wishlist to support the Monarch Pantry or a Norfolk Public Schools Equity and Excellence Learning Center. It takes minutes, and your generosity goes directly to students and families in need.
Provide your time: Volunteers are needed to sort, transport, and distribute donations. Email giveback@odu.edu to volunteer.
Monarchs step up when our community needs us. Together, we can make a meaningful difference for those facing food insecurity, especially Monarch students and families across Hampton Roads. I encourage you to become involved in this proud Monarch tradition as we actively pursue our collective spirit of selfless service with a campus-wide celebration to be held on October 30!
With Monarch Pride,
Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.
President