Kappa Psi philanthropy focuses on food insecurity

Kappa Psi presenting food donations to CAPA Cares
Top: Kappa Psi president Daniel Frederick with members of Michigan’s Council of Asian Pacific Americans for CAPA Cares. Kappa Psi and the Council of Asian Pacific Americans sponsored seven families affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Bottom: Jad Kawas and Evan Johnson with food donations for marginalized women and children through Zaman International.

According to data from The United Way, one in eight families in America are hungry and 60% of households led by older Americans must choose between buying groceries or paying utility bills. Food insecurity also affects young adults, with some 48% of American college students struggling to put meals on their tables.

Wayne State University’s chapter of Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity has made it a point to devote the past semester to tackle food insecurity in the local community through several philanthropy initiatives beginning with CAPA Cares. At the beginning of the year, Kappa Psi partnered with the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) to sponsor seven families dealing with food insecurity because of the coronavirus pandemic. Whether from lost work because of the lockdown or because a loved one was diagnosed with COVID-19, these families hailed from different APA communities under CAPA’s umbrella: Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and Hmong. Each of these families received $250 to help them during these trying times.

The brothers of Kappa Psi also donated canned goods and other nonperishable items to the university’s W Food Pantry, which supports currently enrolled Wayne State students by providing resources to reduce food and other insecurities they may face.

Lastly, the fraternity most recently organized a canned food drive to benefit Zaman International, which is based in Inkster. Zaman is committed to facilitating change and advancing the lives of marginalized women and children by enabling them to meet essential needs common to all humankind.

“Organizations like Zaman International are important to us at Kappa Psi as they not only inspire us to do good but provide a means of helping our community outside of the realm of healthcare. Life as a healthcare professional is a life of service,” said Jad Aiman Kawas, the fraternity’s philanthropy co-chair. “It is easy for us to lose sight that health and medicine go hand-in-hand with things like basic needs.”

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