Troy University Greek men have made an impact in the community they call home, even if it’s their home-away-from-home.
Each of the University’s eight Intrafraternity Council member houses – nearly 300 fraternity men in all — took on the responsibility of collecting items for the Troy-based Rashad M. McClaney Foundation’s ‘holiday meal’ boxes – some 100 uncooked boxed meals that include three canned goods, rice, a bag of potatoes, bread, candied yams, boxed cake, drinks and an uncooked ham or turkey.
The drive replaces a Christmas dinner the McClaney’s hosted in 2019 for about 250 elderly and homeless people in Troy at St. Peter Missionary Baptist Church. The dinner isn’t possible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the collection and donation of items, the fraternities sent 30 to 40 men to the church to assist in assembling the boxes, said Dendy Moseley, Associate Dean of Student Services, who helps coordinate fraternities at the University.
“The fraternity brothers fully embraced this cause and will provide holiday meals to more than 100 families in the Troy area,” he said. “This will be a tremendous blessing to many families in need.”
Venesia McClaney, who started the foundation in memory of her late son Rashad, who was killed in 2018, summed up the Greek involvement with a word: “awesome.”
“They were so awesome that they came up with a more efficient way to fill the boxes in record time. They spent money to get tape to assemble more boxes to fill and stayed to fill the newly assembled boxes,” she said.
They were able to fill about 150 boxes in a single night.
Moseley said the fraternities were planning to donate money to cover the costs of the hams and turkeys. The boxes will be distributed Dec. 12 and 13 in Troy by the McClaney Foundation.
