Once a week, several sisters of Epsilon Kappa Theta travel from Hanover to Lebanon, N.H., to baby-sit. It isn't a job for them. In fact, they don't make any money at all. They are providing free childcare so that a number of mothers can attend evening support groups at Women's Information Service (WISE), a nonprofit organization that serves Upper Valley women, men, and children who are experiencing domestic and sexual violence.
|
The childcare Theta sisters provide "is essential for the success of these groups," says WISE Program Advocate Marion Denard. "Many of our clients are women with young children, and finding evening childcare can be a huge barrier to attending a group where they can find support."
Theta has "adopted" WISE. The sorority is one of several Coed, Fraternity, Sorority (CFS) organizations that have chosen to participate in the Adopt-an-Agency program, a partnership between the United Way and Dartmouth's Office of Residential Life. The program began last fall after the Order of Omega, the CFS honor society, took over the student campaign for the United Way. Participant CFS groups choose a United Way agency, such as WISE, to adopt and agree to a three-year relationship with it. The commitment works both ways, says Jennifer Calvert, CFS advisor and community director in the Office of Residential Life. Agencies commit to train the students, and students commit to contacting "their" agencies at the beginning of each year to find out how they can be of service.
Calvert notes the work students do can vary widely, from baby-sitting to helping sell Girl Scout cookies to moving furniture around-"anything that is a good fit between that agency and the student group."
Participation in the program is voluntary and satisfies a CFS organization's commitment to service/philanthropy, one of six areas specified in the College's CFS Mission Statement and Guiding Principles. (The others are scholarship, leadership, brotherhood/sisterhood, inclusivity, and accountability.)
Calvert says her office chose to partner with the United Way because many of the CFS groups already were working with, and raising money for, the organization. "We felt it was important for students to know the people they were helping to serve and to know the needs they were meeting," she says.
So far, four CFS organizations at Dartmouth have adopted agencies. In addition to Theta, Alpha Xi Delta is working with the Girl Scouts (see photo below), and Kappa Delta Epsilon and Delta Delta Delta are working with Hannah House, an Upper Valley agency that provides services to pregnant and parenting youth. Calvert says the students are enjoying the service experience.
"It's important to do service with a specific organization because you can develop bonds," says Elana Bannerman '05, Theta's service chair for the winter term. "While one-time projects are important, through forming a long-lasting partnership with an Upper Valley agency, both groups benefit so much more."
Theta was the first CFS organization to join the Adopt-an-Agency program. Bannerman says her house chose WISE in part because the sorority wanted to do something that supported women. In addition to baby-sitting, the sisters also are helping to publicize WISE services in the Upper Valley area.
"The participation with WISE is going well," says Bannerman. "It's helpful to have a focus, a purpose."
By ANITA WARREN
Questions or comments about this article? We welcome your feedback.
