MUSTANG, Okla. – What began as a group for drinking wine, talking about life, and supporting one another has turned into an organization that supports strangers.
They call themselves ‘the Sippin’ Sistas.'
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“We never thought it would be this strong, but it’s amazing. I love my sisters!” said member Karen Brown.
The group travels to schools around the metro to pay off student lunch debt.
“The kids are eating different meals if they can’t afford it. Some of the schools are having to give them cheese sandwiches, or some schools, we found out, if they have a balance of $15 or more, they don’t eat at all,” said Walker.
So far, they’ve been to six schools and donated $8,500.
On Thursday, they donated $600 to Mustang High School.
“The students that come in are extremely important to us. They become like children to us, and to see one that you know or you feel like is struggling, that’s hard. It’s very difficult,” said cafeteria manager Kimberly Walker. “For someone to come in and do something that all of us wish that we could do, it means a tremendous amount to us.”
The Sippin’ Sistas hit two more schools on Thursday and plan to donate even more next week.
"We get very attached to our students in this cafeteria. It’s not really just a job. We are the moms of the school, that’s exactly how we feel,” said Walker.
The group says they wanted to donate as much money as possible before school testing began.
“I can only imagine a child trying to take a test and not be able to focus on what’s important because they’re hungry,” said Brown.
The group says as many as one in five students can go to bed hungry in Oklahoma.
“It’s a blessing beyond what they even know and I’m thankful for their generosity,” said Walker.
“Some of the little stories that we’ve gotten out of the day of donation, it just makes you want to do even more,” said Brown.
Oklahoma City Public Schools offers free meals to its students, so that’s one of the reasons the group targets other suburban districts.
All of the money they raise from fundraisers goes directly toward their students.