The Eastern New Mexico University Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) Honor Society made a positive difference in the community during a challenging time by donating supplies obtained through drop boxes at local businesses to the Portales Municipal School District on Jan. 26. Donated items included whiteboards, notebooks, highlighters, hundreds of pencils, thousands of pages of ruled paper and more.
Dr. Kenwyn Cradock, PKP president, and Daniel Madmony Ziegler, PKP student vice president, reflect on the successful project.
Dr. Kenwyn Cradock
What inspired you and your group to pursue this project?
Due to personal contacts with the public K-12 educator community, we learned that some students in our community did not have the necessary basic school materials to learn effectively at home. As the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is centered around a life-long love of learning, it seemed an easy connection for us to try to help out.
Share details on how the project was completed.
Once the project had been conceived, the executive committee of the ENMU PKP Chapter 120 organized the project. The executive committee is President Dr. Ken Cradock, Vice President Dr. Richard Schwartz, Treasurer Ann Varela, Secretary Kelly Cradock, Student Vice President Daniel Madmony-Ziegler. We approached Do Drop In and Sweetwaters at Landalls about setting up drop boxes at their locations for community members to drop off learning supplies (lined paper, pencils, pens, etc.) while limiting person-to-person contact during the pandemic. We are deeply grateful to both businesses for their willingness to participate in and help with our project. We collected during the month of December. The collected supplies were delivered to the Portales School District offices on January 26, 2021, by Ms. Kelly Cradock (PKP Chapter 120 Secretary). The project was promoted via social media and word-of-mouth. We are thankful for the generosity of the Portales community for all donations.
What did participating in this project mean to you?
This was the first time that our chapter has conducted such a project, and we were excited by the possibilities it presented to help our local community while increasing the potential of students to learn during these challenging times. Even though it was a modest contribution, it was gratifying to have been able to make a positive difference for our local school district.
What advice do you have for students and others in the Greyhound family who are interested in making a difference in their communities?
First, find something you are passionate about, as this makes it easier to follow through on the project. Secondly, always remember that even small contributions can be meaningful and impactful, so don't be discouraged if your project doesn't work out quite as expected or hoped for. Next, remember we have a great community willing to help both on and off-campus. Lastly, to quote Nike, "Just Do It."
Daniel Madmony Ziegler
What was your role in this project?
To begin with, I would like to say that everyone at Phi Kappa Phi (ENMU chapter) contributed their time and effort in making our plan successful. I applaud all of them. As a student vice-president of PKP, I serve as a connection between Phi Kappa Phi and our chapter on campus, bringing the "Phi Kappa Phi Fall Plan" to our chapter's attention and providing information. I also contacted local businesses in the Portales community and asked them to join our cause.
What did participating in this project to help others mean to you?
I believe that participating in such a project, especially during COVID-19, is a huge accomplishment. I am a firm believer that whenever we work on improving ourselves and contributing to society, everyone is better off. It is not a cliché, by helping others and showing them that they are not forgotten, I would like to hope those people would like to give back to the community when they get the change. I am thrilled by the number of donations we were able to collect and hope that the people in our community find them useful.
