Campus Cabinet here to help students, staff during times of need
By GAVIN MENDOZA, Senior Reporter
Hannah Wilkes-Ball,
a freshman biology major who volunteers at the Campus Cabinet, poses for a portrait on Tuesday. The Campus Cabinet has been helping Rangers in need since 2019. -Photo by Devyn Lansden
A passion for helping others is what the Campus Cabinet at Northwestern is all about, volunteers say.
Since 2019, the Campus Cabinet has handed out food and other materials to students and Northwestern employees in need, said Angelia Case, a Northwestern employee who started the Cabinet with the her sister, Valarie.
“We want to be there if people need help,” Angelia Case said.
The Campus Cabinet got its start when the Case sisters saw students who needed food and other supplies, like clothes, blankets, bedding and school supplies, Angelia Case said. The sisters wanted to be there for those students. Angelia Case is the assistant to the dean of faculty, and Valarie Case is a university relations specialist.
What the Campus Cabinet has to offer depends on what people donate. Donation drives are periodically conducted to help restock the pantry, housed in Shockley Hall.
“We’ve had school supplies donated before, and if we find a need – if we can do it – we try to fill that for the people that need it,” Case said. “It is such a caring place to be in, and you know, if there is a way that we can be helpful to our students and fellow employees, then we will try and take care of it.”
Students and employees can help by donating non-perishable food and other items they may not be using.
“At the end of the semester when you are moving back home, think about the pantry if you have some food left in your room,” Case said. “We were able to collect some small refrigerators. Stuff like this is very helpful, and instead of throwing it away, just give us a holler.”
Hannah Wilkes-Ball, a freshman biology major, helps with the Campus Cabinet and said she is happy to be a part of the organization.
“I worked in food pantries in Oklahoma City growing up, but this was a lot different,” Wilkes-Ball said. “It is so underrated, to me, because people come in, and it really helps just one person at a time.”
People shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to the Campus Cabinet – or any other organization – for help, she said.
“If you need help, there should not be any shame behind it, and let people get the word out to each other that it is here for everybody,” Wilkes-Ball said.
Case said she is thankful for Wilkes-Ball and other volunteers who have helped the organization grow. She also said Alva’s small size helps volunteers find people in need more easily.
“A lot of times, small towns get a bad rap,” Case said. “But a lot of the time that is a good thing, especially for us, because we find places where we can fill those gaps where people need help.”