Holiday Helpers
Hello NCD! As we dive head-first into 2005, it’s always great to take a look back on the semester past. Lambda had an incredibly successful Fall 2004, filled with spirit, fun, music, and, of course, sisterhood. Several of the sisters from our chapter have spent this year reaching out across the NCD, making the trips to degrees of chapters around the district. We have a wonderful class of 23 very excited and energetic MECs who sponsored a fabulous Masquerade Ball for the entire marching band in December. We also ended the year on a high note with the rare opportunity to meet and spend time with sisters from half way across the country--on the night of December 30, the sisters of Lambda and the sisters of Beta Gamma from the University of Texas gathered for bonding time at the Universal City Sheraton, and then the officer corps from both chapters met during the 3rd quarter of the Rose Bowl on January 1.
Prior to leaving Ann Arbor for the winter break, some of the sisters from our chapter were again offered the opportunity to serve as gift wrappers at a local shelter called SAFE House. Twelve sisters were able to go two different evenings to SAFE House and wrap Christmas gifts for underprivileged families. The gifts themselves are donated to the shelter so that the mothers can come and pick out a set of presents (including clothes, books, and, of course, toys) for each of their children, and then volunteers wrap and tag the presents. The experience is a great one for us--paper cuts aside--and really offers a great opportunity to celebrate the holiday spirit with our sisters.
“With school ending so late and me being stuck in the dorms until December 23, the gift wrapping totally helped me get into the Christmas Spirit before I went home, because with finals and all, it's easy to forget that the holidays are even coming.” --Kim Mai, Senior
However, the rewards that we reap from this event are beyond the scope of fun and enjoyment.
“Being able to take part in an event like this really raises many issues that are important to women in our community. Knowing that single-mother families in our area would be able to celebrate a comfortable Christmas with our help makes all of the time completely worthwhile. And seeing the expressions on mothers’ faces when we hand them the giant bag of gifts for each child is priceless. I can't wait to participate again next year, and I hope helping this organization becomes a year-round event for Lambda.” --Andrea Bolterstein, Junior
Working with SAFE House has become something many of the sisters in Lambda have become interested in, and something we continue to enjoy. We can only hope at this point that our partnership will grow and gift wrapping will be an annual service event for our chapter!
Good luck to everyone in 2005!
Respectfully Submitted In the Bond,
Victoria “Vika” Campbell
Corresponding Secretary, Tau Beta Sigma-Lambda
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