Reinhardt Collects School Supplies For Kenyan Orphanage

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School supplies collected by Dr. Joann Adeogun, an assistant professor of business at Reinhardt University, will be shipped to an African country later this week.

The supplies will leave Cherokee County on Saturday, Oct. 17 to make their journey to an orphanage run by Canton-based nonprofit SERV International.

The 3,461 items were donated by Reinhardt students, faculty and staff and included 1,401 pencils, 224 pens, 600 crayons and markers, 163 pieces of chalk, 672 notebooks or paper items, 113 dictionaries and thesauruses, 243 erasers and miscellaneous items such as packs of rubber bands, rulers and pencil sharpeners.

Adeogun described the supply drive as her way of giving back.

“It has nothing to do with any class,” she said. “It was just a project worth doing.”

Cathi Lindsey, SERV donor relations coordinator, expressed thanks for the donated supplies.

“The students, faculty and staff at Reinhardt University have all enriched the lives of the children at House of Hope through their passion, dedication and desire to give back and make a difference,” she said. “These supplies will personally be delivered by our mission team over 8,000 miles away to the middle of the desert in northwest Kenya where SERV’s orphanage is located. This supply drive is a blessing in so many ways, and all of us at SERV are honored that Reinhardt chose to support House of Hope.”

Adeogun first learned about the orphanage in the spring when her international business class, and a project management class taught by business instructor Tina Boosel, worked with SERV. Adeogun felt called to do more, so she set up a school supply drive on Reinhardt’s Waleska campus this fall.

“I saw the need for something as simple as pencils and paper,” Adeogun said. “I always believe that to whom much is given much is required. I’ve been given a lot, and giving school supplies is something we can all do. To these children, it means a lot.”

She also collected letters of support for the children from students in several Reinhardt business classes and from young people at Boosel’s church, Antioch Christian Church in Hickory Flat.

“The idea of the letters was to let the children know they are connecting with someone else outside of Kenya,” Adeogun added. “They now have 50 orphans; last spring they had 40.”

Adeogun was inspired by the response.

“I was definitely pleased,” she said. “As usual I got more than I expected, especially in such a short amount of time. We started in mid-August, and now it’s early October,” she said.

The supplies will go to Kenya as part of a mission trip conducted by SERV. For more information on SERV, visit their website www.servone.org or call 770-516-1108.

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Photo: Dr. Joann Adeogun. Credit: Reinhardt University