The Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement (OLCE) along with various organizations hosted a “Cross the Street” campaign to promote health equity and educational resources, where individuals engaged and encouraged the East Greensboro community.
The event opened with the Dudley High school band parading with N.C. A&T students around the Ray Warren community to let residents know the event was taking place.
“We specifically decided to touch the Ray Warren community because it is a part of East Greensboro and the school literally sits in East Greensboro, and it’s important for the students and faculty at A&T to be connected to the community that they live in,” said Jasmine Amaniampong, junior economics and co-lead for Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Student organizations such as National Society of Black Engineers, Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement, Black Periodt Project taught the community the importance of taking care of themselves while providing them with essential items such as baby diapers, foods and more.
Community partners such as Healthy Blue supplied the community with free screenings and health education. Grow House Agriculture also provided free food and vegetable distribution for Thanksgiving.
This event gave students from N.C. A&T an opportunity to see the community that lives around them and invest in relationships with local people.
“The purpose of Cross the Street is to encourage Aggies to get off campus and get involved with meaningful community service that impacts the greater Greensboro community that we are a part of,” said Verdant Julius, senior biology and psychology student. “Two of the things that we really wanted to emphasize with this event, is health equity as well as educational equity for our community.”
The Alpha Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. offered field day games such as dodgeball, kickball, tug-of-war and a bounce house for younger kids.
“It means the impact is bigger than us on campus. We are crossing the street to show the community that we are a part of that we want to give back to them not just on campus but off campus as well,” said McKenzie Williams, student worker within the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement and current member of Alpha Mu chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. “The East side of Greensboro is a lower income community, so we want to give back like people have given back to us.”
Community leaders were touched by the Aggies that decided to come out and support the community they serve, including Anthony Banks, an Aggie Alum who works for East Greensboro.
“Greensboro Housing Authority (GHA) serves close to 13,000 residents here in the city of Greensboro. So, this event means the world to not only GHA but also to the community,” Banks said. “It is a great opportunity to bring folks together, show love to the community, as well as nutrition. We appreciate the Aggies for coming out and showing love.”
Towards the end of the event, OLCE hinted at having a spring semester event similar to Cross the Street. Make sure to follow OLCE on Instagram to keep up to date with all future events.
