Greek life in college life can be intriguing to get into. There are many benefits to joining a sorority on Eureka College campus, such as the promotion of different values under philanthropy.
Looking at the sororities on campus, there are three; Delta Zeta, Delta Delta Pi, and Phi Omega. DDP was founded May 19th, 1910 in Eureka, Illinois at Eureka College. DZ was founded October 24th, 1902 in Oxford, Ohio at Miami University.
Delta Zeta and Delta Delta Pi are the larger sororities on campus and have the most events with philanthropy. Philanthropy is working with volunteers for an organization to collect donations and help out with those organizations. Phi Omega currently does not have a philanthropy chair, but has in the past.
Delta Zeta has three philanthropies nationally; Starkey Hearing Foundation, American Society for Deaf Children, Serious Fun, and Mark Linder for their local philanthropy.
Rebecca Dawson is the philanthropist for Delta Zeta and is very passionate about philanthropy. She grew up around philanthropy. Mark Linder is one of the organizations Delta Zeta volunteers for. Delta Zeta goes and greets people at the door and takes pictures for people who are there.
“One of my main responsibilities is taking time to put together small events in order to raise money for our local and national philanthropies,” Said Dawson via email.
Responsibilities for philanthropy can be a big job because of finding other national or local philanthropies to raise money for. Looking for them can be a hard job due to the fact that others might already have that one or they just aren’t looking for any.
“One of the events that I’m proud of would have to be our Mardi Bras from last semester. It also had a great turnout,” said Dawson via email.
Mardi Bras was an event for people to donate money to the women’s health center called “Women’s Care Center” that helps women and children in need. They also would have people donate carefully worn bras or new ones for those who can’t afford them.
“I have a couple of ideas that would consist of keeping the thought of others in our minds as we grow as a chapter. I want us to help out as much as we can!” Said Dawson via email.
Coming up with different ideas and goals as a chapter can be good for a sorority to grow their size and let people know that they care about the wider conversation.
Delta Delta Pi works with Heartline and Heart House. Heartline offers different ways of assistance for residents of Woodford County. Heart House offers different shelter services to children and women.
Gabby Penberthy is the philanthropist for Delta Delta Pi. She is one of the girls who does a lot of hard work within the sorority itself.
“As a philanthropist, I organize and oversee all of our chapter’s service efforts. That includes planning events, keeping track of service hours, and making sure our members are getting the opportunity to give back!” Said Penberthy via email.
Within philanthropy, sororities host specific events to create awareness and engage the wider campus community.
“While I haven’t hosted my own event yet, I’m excited about one I’m currently planning – an awareness week for Breast Cancer and POTS [Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome] as it is Breast Cancer awareness month as well as Dysautonomia awareness month. I love the idea of bringing our community together by raising money and spreading awareness. I’m proud of the planning process so far and I’m excited to see it in action.” said Penberthy via email.
With this event being planned, she talks about Dysautonomia. This is something where your nervous system isn’t working correctly. POTS or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is abnormally high heart rate when standing.
Bringing awareness to these things is good to talk to other people and find families to support. Raising money for families that are dealing with these is helpful for those who can’t afford treatment.
“My goal for our chapter philanthropy is to grow our impact by making our events bigger and more engaging for everyone. I would love to see us build stronger connections with our community to give us more opportunities to make a difference. I’d love our philanthropy to feel like a reflection of who we are and how passionate and dedicated we are to giving back.” said Penberthy via email.
