With gift cards donationed by the Nu Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. for families of students at Rochelle Middle School are, from left, chapter president James Mumford, Rochelle principal Terry Wooten, assistant principal Shana Connor and chapter immediate past president Derrick Wiggs.

Families of several Rochelle Middle School students have another reason to be thankful this holiday – the generosity of the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

The Nu Iota Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., represented by president James Mumford and immediate past president Derrick Wiggs, represented $100 gift cards to Rochelle administrators on Monday to be passed on to families of students already selected by school counselors.

“Traditionally, every year we feed a family or two for Thanksgiving and at Christmas get some gifts, so this year what we came up with as a chapter is not only feed one or two families but as many as we can,” Mumford said. “This year, we wanted to contribute to the money needed for groceries.”

Rochelle principal Terry Wooten and assistant principal Shana Connor accepted the donation on behalf of the school.

“I would like to thank Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity for their generous donations and continued support of our Rochelle families,” Wooten said.

The donation was funded internally by brothers of the chapter, according to Mumford. “We all came together and got the money together,” he said. “We didn’t do any fundraising or anything. This came out of own pockets. We just want to be a blessing to youth and their families and help feed them during this time.”