Delta Delta Delta - University of Kansas

TRI DELTA DISPATCH 2 Following the trip, Julie felt she still wanted to make a difference in the communities in South Africa. As such, she participated in writing a $150,000 grant that paid for reading books and numeric books for preschoolers and kindergarteners; but that wasn't enough. She was asked to return to South Africa in 2014 to follow up on the grant and she wanted her husband to go with her, to experience first- hand the people, communities, and projects that had so affected her. Julie, through the support and encouragement of her friends, was able to raise over $11,000 to take with her. This money was used to pay for breakfasts and lunches for an entire preschool for a year, the GoGo soup kitchen project, helped with providing uniform jackets to students who didn't have them and couldn't attend school without them, provided scholarships for opera students and several smaller projects. They were honored guests of a grade school reception field trip. The children and teachers were brought by township taxi vans to a woman's home. From there, they walked to a beach where two college interns met them and explained sea life and environmental issues. They walked several miles before returning to the woman's home where she provided them with a "sunny" lunch. All the food was yellow, like the sun. As a special treat she had made a piñata, which was filled with treasures and a bit of candy from the U.S. As close as those children live to the ocean, this was the first time they had ever actually been to the water. Through these experiences, Julie's perspective on life and community was dramatically influenced. To see the extent of the poverty in the townships of South Africa, as well as the struggles of everyday life, was challenging and heartbreaking. But the more impactful experience was bearing witness to the sense of community, pride, and gratitude that the people of South Africa have. The children, despite being underfed and living in poverty, were excited to come to school every day and learn. They loved getting attention, wanting their picture taken, and to be held. Life in the townships was mostly about survival so they didn't get a lot of attention at home. Those in the community supported one another; everyone Julie met was involved in some type of project to help the township communities in some way. Seeing things from their perspective gave Julie a new viewpoint on her own life here in America. "As Americans, we get so stressed out with how much money we make, with our jobs, our homes, our status, etc. We sometimes take for granted the simpler pleasantries of living and forget how truly blessed we are." She is grateful for all that she has, all that she witnessed, and hopes to continue learning from these experiences and giving back. Julie can be reached via e-mail at jwfrendle@gmail.com. A Life of Service Gave Way to a Humbled Perspective (Continued from page 1) T he Theta Omega Chapter of Delta Delta Delta has been busy this semester establishing permanent bonds of friendship and broadening members' moral and intellectual life. I could not be more proud of our members who have gone above and beyond, using their talents to do great things in our chapter. Dozens of our women sang and danced their way into Rock Chalk Revue, which took place in early March, benefitting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Douglas County. Five of our members are off exploring places outside of Lawrence, studying abroad in Ireland, England, Costa Rica, and the Netherlands. Our philanthropy chairman and I had the life-changing opportunity to travel to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis for the Tri Delta-St. Jude Leadership weekend, which inspired our newest philanthropy event, Mac Madness, at the end of February, to benefit the work toward finding cures and saving children's lives. And finally, five of our officers recently attended the Tri Delta Collegiate Leadership Conference in Dallas and have brought back some amazing ideas for helping us make our chapter even better. As we await the results from our Greek Awards submissions, I'm confident our chapter will be rewarded for our outstanding involvement and commitment to Tri Delta, the University of Kansas, and the Lawrence community. As I mentioned before, I am so proud of the members in this chapter, and having the opportunity to see them and help them grow every day is blessing that I will treasure throughout my collegiate years and beyond. I'm truly blessed to be able to call these 185 women my sisters and get to strive for greatness with them each and every day. We can't thank you enough, our wonderful alumnae, for your support. In the Bonds, Jordan McEntee '13 Chapter President jordy.mcentee@gmail.com Singing, Dancing, and Leadership in Theta Omega Alyssa Hemphill '13, Allison Pope '12, Shelby Rowley '12, Eimile Fallon '12, Sarah Hamilton '12, Erin Johnson '13, Skylar Blackburn '13, Cody Moore '13, and Allison Showalter '13 before a chapter meeting. Accomplishments and Awards Way to go, sisters, for being amazing leaders! • Rachel Bullock '11, so far, has made it to the final rounds of field consultant interviews. • Sarah Marnin '13 is the president of the Pre-Vet Club. • Paxton Rein '11 is the president of KU Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking. • Sarah Hamilton '12 is the president of American Business Women's Association and is on the executive board for the Undergraduate Business Council. H H H H Welcome, New Members Emily Beiter Lenexa, Kan. Yssa Delmundo Woodbury, Minn. Sophie Mann Prairie Village, Kan.

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