Alpha Kappa Alpha Members Pack Purses For Atlanta’s Female Unhoused

Atlanta members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. helped pack bags with toiletries and other items for the city's unhoused women.

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) are giving back to their community by packing purses for those in need. A local chapter partnered with Atlanta Housing on Jan. 19 to help unhoused women during the winter season.

According to 11Alive, the sorority worked with the housing authority, packing used handbags with toiletries and essential supplies. Exactly 145 purses were filled with goods to provide some aid and hope during the cold months.

Their service will assist a local nonprofit, Dignify A Diva Inc., which has provided these equipped bags, in addition to backpacks and overnight bags, for those unhoused in the area since its establishment in 2015. The sorority members have now contributed to the over 12,000 bags the organization has given out to individuals in need.

The event followed the National Day of Service, recognized on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in which service organizations nationwide volunteered their efforts to better communities. This charitable initiative seeks to specifically address an ongoing issue regarding homelessness in the United States, with the international sorority committed to benefitting all mankind in various ways.

For example, in 2020, the sorority raised “more than $15,000 through the organization’s virtual Peer-to-Peer Fundraising effort and provided monthly catered dinners to the more than 50 Nicholas House residents,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Their work here is needed as Atlanta, along with other areas across the country, has faced rising rates of unhoused individuals and families. To support an influx of those sleeping inside their facility, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport has been urged by city officials to develop a plan to assist the scores of people utilizing the building as a shelter.

In addition, The Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta hosted a “Sleep the Night Out” event in December 2023 to showcase solidarity with those experiencing homelessness in the city.