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A simple conversation starter turned into a generous donation that East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania Assistant Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Cornelia Sewell-Allen, Ed. D., couldn&rsquo;t be more proud of.
				During a virtual Sister Chat of the newly formed campus group Young Women of Color Initiative (YWOCI) before Thanksgiving, members were posed a question, &lsquo;What was the nicest thing you have done for someone else this year?&rsquo;
				ESU senior Alejandra Browne didn&rsquo;t have to think too long before answering.
				&ldquo;I was helping the Navajo Nation with COVID-19 supplies. I don&rsquo;t really have anything personally that would top that,&rdquo; said Browne, a biology major from East Stroudsburg, Pa. &ldquo;Everybody just was kind of shocked at first, almost like they didn&rsquo;t believe it.&rdquo;
				Some additional questions followed and before long, Dr. Sewell-Allen and Lurine Allotey, assistant director for the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Education, were digging to find out more about how they could get YWOCI involved in donating more masks and hand sanitizer to the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women in Albuquerque, N.M. Browne and her mother, Amanda Browne, an ESU employee, had already donated nearly 200 masks to the organization.
				By the time Christmas rolled around, YWOCI had gathered 420 masks to send to Cheyenne Antonio, the Browne&rsquo;s contact who is the coordinator of the Coalition to Stop Violence against Native Women.
				&ldquo;I was just elated we could be of service that way,&rdquo; Sewell-Allen said. &ldquo;One of the outcomes as we move forward with YWOCI is the service component. It has to be a part of what we do. We want to instill in the young women we work with is the importance of giving to others &#8211; that it can uplift the community and you as an individual in the darkest of times.&rdquo;
				Allotey spearheaded the initiative by reaching out to ESU staff and faculty, and sharing the story about the importance of why the Navajo Nation needed the masks. Alejandra, of Native descent herself, had explained to Allotey that the women living there live in extreme poverty, face a fear of sex and human trafficking and just don&rsquo;t have the same luxuries as many others.
				It&rsquo;s groups such as Antonio&rsquo;s in New Mexico that the YWOCI will seek to find and focus on reaching out to.
				&ldquo;There are people out there who need our help,&rdquo; Allotey said. &ldquo;We are focused on the greater good. We are there for them and to help them.&rdquo;

Young Women of Color campus group donates COVID supplies