Week of Service Blog: Community Impact Award
Each year, Delta Chi recognizes a select number of chapters that have gone above and beyond in their efforts to give back to their communities and make an impact on an even larger level through their service-based and philanthropic efforts. These chapters are awarded with the Community Impact Award. These chapters not only have made a difference in the lives of others, but are able to provide tangible evidence of the personal development that has occurred in their membership, as well as the link between their efforts, and our mission to develop character and advance justice within our communities.
In 2020, Delta Chi Fraternity recognized the Virginia Tech Chapter, and the San Antonio Chapter with the Community Impact Award. As a part of Week of Service, we aim to highlight some of the civic responsibility efforts of these Chapters to thank them for their work, and to provide best practices and ideas for other chapters to use moving forward.
The San Antonio Chapter may be one of Delta Chi’s smaller groups, as one of just two fraternities on the Texas A&M, San Antonio campus, but their impact is mighty. With just 13 active members in the fall of 2019, and 17 members in the spring of 2020, they managed to complete over 400 community service hours throughout the academic year. They served these hours through their annual holiday card campaign with the Hunters Pond Rehabilitation Center, a strong partnership for the Chapter. They also played a significant role in their campus Day of Service by partnering with the Mays Center, not only including chapter members, but rallying participation of their peers as well. Their efforts also stretch into their work with the CAST STEM High School Beautification Project, Martin Luther King Jr. March, Six Flags Fright Fest in collaboration with the Rotary Club, Campus Trunk or Treat initiative, and many more. They built upon their pre-existing partnerships by building carnival booths for Good Samaritan Community Services, an organization that works toward ending generational poverty in San Antonio. This all culminated with the Chapter also being recognized by their host institution with the Community Service of the Year award at the institution-wide award ceremony. We commend the San Antonio Chapter on their incredible service efforts and look forward to seeing the impact they continue to make in the future!
The Virginia Tech Chapter cites service to their community as a cornerstone of who they are as a chapter. Over the 2019-2020 academic year, the Chapter completed over 1,400 community service hours, both in the Blacksburg, Virginia area, and in their hometowns following the onset of COVID-19. They participated in several campus-wide initiatives such as the Big Event, Greeks Giving Back, and Homecoming service programming, assisting in the planting of over 5,000 native trees in Blacksburg in an effort to take action against climate change. They also volunteered independently with the Christianburg Elementary School, supporting their annual fall festival. The Chapter also completed over 240 hours of community service during Delta Chi’s 2019 Week of Service, more than any other chapter in North America, by assisting in executing a community 5k race and hosting a community cleanup. We look forward to seeing these incredible efforts persist as the Chapter continues to make an impact, even through a global pandemic.
