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Despite the public schools remaining virtual, local sororities and fraternities were still ready to provide students with the supplies they need.

The Suffolk Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. hosted a drive-by school supply give away with other sororities and fraternities in the Divine Nine.

This drive-by event started at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at East Suffolk Community Center on South Sixth Street.

Members of the Divine Nine and police officers directed traffic around the parking lot to the two-lane drive-through with tables filled with drawstring bags of supplies. There, sorority and fraternity members handed out supplies and gift cards while keeping their distance and wearing protective gear.

“A large portion of this group are educators and work for social services, so we understand the positive impact on the community to help the students be successful,” said Tina Paul, president of the Suffolk Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.

The bags included many supplies, including dry erase boards, markers, dry erase markers, crayons, colored pencils, loose-leaf paper, highlighters, index cards, earbuds, scissors, composition books, glue sticks, pencils, pens, erasers, folders and drawstring bags.

The Divine Nine is a group of nine Black Greek letter organizations that make up the National Pan-Hellenic Council. The sororities put together a total of 250 bags, and the fraternities gave $800 in donations for this giveaway.

“With the monetary donations, we were able to do additional bags of supplies, gift cards and buy personal protective equipment for our volunteers,” said Paul.

Annually, the Suffolk Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. does an education development outreach event. This was a different format from their regular school supply giveaways, but the constant car flow proved it was still a success.

“Another positive is that we get to come together to perform a service,” said Paul. “Each group usually does individual things, but it is good to come together and be a unit. We hope this will be an annual partnership with the Divine Nine.”