Office holiday parties, hosting family from out of town, shopping for gifts, preparing holiday meals and trying to wrap up the year – there are tons of things and events competing for people’s attention during the month of December.
Yet every year since 2009, we’ve successfully gathered a crowd to party with a dual purpose: to raise funds for our chapter’s programs and to collect toys for children in need.
For five years, our chapter has donated toys to local organizations and we’ve had some great collaborations to help us – the men of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in 2010; and the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. in 2011 and 2012. But the best collaboration to date has been with our very own Sorors.
For the first time, three Delta chapters from two states – EKC, North Manhattan Alumnae Chapter (NMAC) and North Jersey Alumnae Chapter (NJAC) – joined forces to host an unforgettable holiday party, all in the name of public service.
Six hundred people packed Suite 36 for Inspi(red)^3: A Crimson Wonderland, many bringing toys and ensuring a wonderful Christmas surprise for the children who would receive them. We also got a surprise of our own when the NYPD Guardians Association, a fraternal organization of black policemen, showed up with a significant donation of toys!
That same night, we delivered 14 extra large bags (nearly 400 toys) to the Women In Need (WIN) homeless shelter in East New York, Brooklyn which has over 200 homeless families residing and receiving services at that location. The evening staff at WIN was completely overwhelmed by the amount and quality of the toys and expressed their sincere gratitude.
“Many of the children would have gone without holiday presents this season if not for your donation.” -Staffer at WIN Homeless Shelter in East New York, Brooklyn
We wish we could have seen the children’s faces when they woke up to all those toys on Sunday morning!
We danced, we ate, we enjoyed signature cocktails – all while bringing joy to some families who needed it. The party underscored the true meaning of the holidays and showed the real work of sorority sisters: community service.