May 2019 Arrow Submission
Every semester, our goal as a chapter is to refocus and prioritize our efforts as it relates to our value of philanthropic service to others and our platform Read > Lead > Achieve. Our work — both that of service and of fundraising events — has allowed our chapter to invest in the important cause of promoting literacy and has also helped us facilitate more meaningful relationships between our members and the broader Purdue community.
The enthusiasm that our chapter has for philanthropic work stems from none other than our Vice President of Philanthropy, Val Hart. Val Hart is currently a freshman, and on top of her commitment to crew team as the coxswain and her passion for biology, she has organized multiple fundraisers for the chapter. All this she does with an infectious and inspiring energy. So far this semester Val has planned monthly meal fundraisers, held a silent auction, and hosted our semesterly Lemonade for Literacy event on campus.
Her devotion to Read > Lead > Achieve has inspired other members of Indiana Delta to reach out to the community to generate awareness and involvement for our philanthropy. For Val, awareness is the biggest piece of the philanthropic puzzle. It is just as important to educate the Purdue campus about our efforts towards Read > Lead > Achieve as it is to fundraise money for the Friendship and Literacy funds. And so, our chapter gives out lemonade during our semesterly Lemonade for Literacy event for any donation amount. To educate the community and members about our cause, committee members wrap stickers on the cups that say things such as: “1 in 4 children will grow up functionally illiterate” or “Greater than 30 million Americans over the age of 16 cannot perform everyday literacy activities.” By including these tangible facts, it is Val’s goal to create a connection between our philanthropy and those who donate to it. Oftentimes, people will leave the lemonade stand having paid $10 for their cup, motivated by the message Val is able to convey.
In addition to educating our members and the community, our chapter strives to include our parents as well. As part of this, we incorporate philanthropy into our Mom’s Day and Dad’s Day activities. During this past Mom’s Day Banquet, held on April 6th, Val worked with our Vice President of Event Planning, Mallory Davis, to host a silent auction. All proceeds from this auction, which totaled $2,7000, were donated to the Literacy and Friendship Funds. The auction allowed our chapter to emphasize the importance of our fundraising efforts with our moms and also allowed them to share in our core value of philanthropy. After the Mom’s Day Banquet, the chapter invited everyone back to the chapter facility where we held a snow cone “Cones for Kids” fundraiser. The event was open to members, moms, and — most importantly — the rest of the Purdue community during the campus’s annual Spring Fest. The university-wide event, Spring Fest, welcomes thousands of families to partake in fun activities throughout campus, and the high traffic of the event allowed the snow cone truck to raise over $4,000. This event was a personal favorite for Val, because she was able to share with curious families about the reason for Pi Beta Phi’s participation and the impact that the donations would have. Val was fortunate to be able to spend time with her mom while also contributing to the community. Through this and other monthly events, Val does an impeccable job of bringing creativity and enthusiasm to our chapter, consistently going above and beyond in her role.
And while donations continue to be an important piece of philanthropy, our chapter always strives to reinforce the aspect of service. And so, Val revitalized our Champions are Readers program this Spring, partnering with a local elementary school, and also worked with the Lafayette Alumnae Club to hand-deliver books to their FDS500 recipient. During the event, members of Indiana Delta were able to play and read with the kids, while also encouraging them to take some books home to continue cultivating and fostering a love of reading. Our chapter members were able to work with the local donation group, the children, and our local alumnae club as part of the book distribution. Indiana Delta also had the opportunity to travel to the book distribution in Indianapolis this past March as one of the Signature Events for Fraternity Day of Service. As part of the event, our members organized books for teachers in need of materials for their classrooms and were able to coordinate with teachers so they were able to get the supplies they needed.
Our chapter strives to provide where others cannot — whether it be books and classroom materials or another essential need. In Indiana, this has manifested as a need for blood donations, given the critical blood shortage for transfusions in our state. The Indiana Blood Center allows chapters on campus to host events and compete in a way that encourages members of our fraternity and sorority community to donate to this important cause. The Indiana Blood Center was founded in 1952 and serves to more than 60 hospitals across the state and collects more than 130,000 units of blood annually. Oftentime, blood donations are collected just in time to save someone’s life and every unit makes a real and meaningful impact for those in need. Every year, Pi Beta Phi far exceeds donations from the other groups on campus and our chapter even hosts our own Blood Drive in the chapter facility. In recognition of our efforts, our chapter received, yet again, the Greek Award Challenge for blood donations at the annual Purdue Greek Honors Night. The joy of winning the award — while it is a reflection of our efforts and sometimes of the non-metaphorical blood, sweat, and tears given to philanthropy — pales in comparison to the feeling of having positively impacted another, whether it be through the gift of a book or a life.