Members aim to give back to Fargo-Moorhead community
Lambda Delta Sigma, Concordia’s only female Greek philanthropy sorority is about a whole lot more than the pink feather boas they wear during rush week.
The sorority upholds a mission that is two-fold: focusing on philanthropic work and empowerment of young women. It is fitting that one of the sorority’s favorite organizations to work with is the YWCA, a nonprofit organization that is, according to their mission statement, “dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” The two organizations hold similar values, according to LDS President Taylor Neal.
“Our motto is ‘Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve’ because our goal is to create strong women who are dedicated to serving their community,” Neal said.
When checking their schedules, LDS sorority members can expect to see their calendars filled with community service projects.
“Each month we have at least one philanthropy event,” vice president Katie Dosland said. According to Dosland, LDS has worked with and volunteered at organizations with organizations such as the Red River Zoo, the Great Plains Food Bank and the YWCA.
Philanthropy, Neal explains, is a vital part of the sorority.
“We are a compassionate group of women who really want to focus on the welfare of those in our community. If we have the means and the manpower to help our community we take complete advantage of it. We love giving back to the community that we have found home in while at Concordia” Neal said.
In regards to the process LDS goes through when selecting charities, Dosland said that LDS has two philanthropy chairs who make the decisions, adding “but we love to work with organizations that have the same principles as we do, those being leadership and philanthropy.”
The sorority is always open to new partnerships, according to Neal, but they’re partial to the YWCA.
“It gives us a chance to work with building up women in our own community,” she said.
According to their Hecompany website, the YWCA provides several services for women such as health programs, job training, empowerment, financial literacy, early childcare and military and veterans programs. A major part of the organization is its advocacy for women’s empowerment and against domestic violence committed toward women and girls.
According to Neal, members of LDS plan to volunteer at the YWCA at least twice a year. While there, Neal said that members “play games with the kids [and] help with any improvements that the facility needs.” But it doesn’t stop there.
Neal says LDS members also engage with the women at the YWCA shelters and find themselves having “meaningful conversations with the women there.” Connecting with the women at the YWCA shelter takes many forms, whether it is through meaningful conversation, cleaning the facility or simply enjoying a meal together.
“Our girls have done everything from cleaning to sorting donations and loading up trucks. We even brought over pizza and had a game night with some of the girls. We give our time and they put us to work on whatever they need help with,” Lily Mackenzie-Olson, one of the recruitment captains for LDS said of their activities.
According to Mackenzie-Olson, “from my experience, working with the YWCA has been absolutely fantastic. The people there are great and always appreciative of anything we can do to help. As a group of women, we find it important to reach out to not only the community, but women like ourselves.”
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