Student joins in fight against hunger

First-year Tulane University student Brooke Rhea joined Feed the Children to lend a hand to New Orleans-area families this spring. A total of 400 families received food and essentials filling a semi-truck at the Apex Youth Center, 2019 Simon Bolivar Ave. in Central City, in late February.

Rhea is in her 13th year of holding fundraisers, and she has raised over $70,000 to help feed children both locally and globally. This is the fifth truck that Rhea has sponsored.

Feed the Children’s partner agency, Apex Youth Center, identified families in need. Each family received a 25-pound food box; a 10-pound box of basic essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion and personal-care items; and a box of assorted Avon products.  

“Raising money to help children and families has always been a huge passion of mine.”

Brooke Rhea, first-year student

“Raising money to help children and families has always been a huge passion of mine,” says Rhea, an economics major from Ambler, Pennsylvania. “I have been blessed in life, and think that giving back is extremely important. No child deserves to be hungry. I am excited to be able to help my community in New Orleans.”

On distribution day, five of Rhea’s Kappa Alpha Theta sorority sisters and about 30 additional sisters from the national Theta alumni group volunteered to help her.

The event is one of many that Feed the Children held across the country. In New Orleans, 27 percent of families are living below the poverty line, according to Feed the Children. Often, these families and children are unsure where they will find their next meal.

“Together, we can lend a hand to our neighbors by providing food and essentials to those in need,” says J. C. Watts Jr., Feed the Children president and CEO. “With the partnership of Brooke Rhea and Apex Youth Center, we can help families in our nation’s own backyard.”