By Albert Vasquez
On November 5, 2021, 17 year-old El Pasoan Roxana Rassooly presented to the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank a check in the amount of $6,000 dollars. This good deed could not have been accomplished without the young Roxana completely realizing the severity of hunger in the city.
The curious Roxana started out by requesting a tour of the food bank facility located at 9541 Plaza Circle and asking an endless amount of questions to understand what it is exactly that the food bank does to fight hunger in El Paso and its surrounding area. After sitting down and brainstorming ideas of what she could do as a single individual to make a difference, she was able to solicit donations from three local businesses. The donations totaled in the amount of $6,000. Considering that for every dollar donated to the food bank 7 meals are provided to people in need, this is truly an impressive feat. Roxana was able to raise enough money for the food bank to provide 42,000 meals.
Roxana has stated that she has now learned how serious food insecurity is in the city of El Paso. She never imagined that so many people were in dire need of the services that the food bank offers and provides to the citizens of El Paso. Although Roxana has donated canned goods in the past, this is the first time she has ever attempted to raise funds for a non-profit organization. With the recent success of her initial attempt to raise money for the food bank, Roxana is motivated more than ever to continue helping El Pasoans Fighting Hunger. She plans to volunteer at the food bank and encourages people her age to volunteer as well and help out the community.