Alpha Kappa Alpha worksAlpha Kappa Alpha worksat the kitchen each Tuesday With all eyes focused on the steaming platter of fried chicken in her arms, College junior Dawn Baxter made her way through the packed basement of St. Agatha/St. James Church at 38th and Chestnut streets. She and other members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority served dinner last night to the more than 100 community members who gather nightly for the free meal. Every Tuesday, the Gamma Epsilon chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which is part of the BiCultural Inter-Greek Council, helps the University City Hospitality Coalition feed the homeless of West Philadelphia. Members of the sorority's local chapter hail from Drexel University and Bryn Mawr College as well as the University. Currently the chapter has a total of 10 members. "I can identify with a lot of people who come here," said Baxter, the chapter's president. "We have established a connection with the people who come." She said she feels strongly about her chapter making its presence known in Philadelphia through community service. In addition to feeding the homeless on a weekly basis, the sorority organizes various forums on campus, holds book drives, buys turkey to give to the homeless on Thanksgiving and raises money for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Wharton junior Rachel Lawson, a member of the sorority, emphasized that Alpha Kappa Alpha is dedicated to promoting service, scholarship and sisterhood. Lee Ann Draud, meal coordinator for UCHC, organizes the free meals every night at various locations in the West Philadelphia community, with each serving between 80 and 150 people. "People come for different reasons," Draud said. "Even when people [are required to come], they find that they like it more than they expected." She added that she senses an increasing interest in community service at the University -- a chain of events which is not necessarily beneficial to Draud. "Now it seems as though other causes have taken precedence over homelessness," she said. "If people don't have food, they don't have the energy to solve their problems. Many stereotypes about the homeless are simply not true at all." The UCHC has served more people in the past year than ever before. Draud attributes the increase in numbers to the recent passing of the Pennsylvania welfare laws. "There are plenty of problems to solve around here, and the city isn't doing a whole lot of it," Draud said. Villanova University's homeless committee also assists UCHC on Tuesday evenings. The Hillel Foundation, Newman Center, Church of the Savior, St. Mary's Parish Hall and Woodland Presbyterian Church also host the nightly meals. "We always need volunteers and people are always welcome to come," Draud said. St. Agatha/St. James Church is located at 38th and Chestnut streets.
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