Delta Sigma Pi finds egg-cellent opportunity to give back to RVA

When students in Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) were searching for service opportunities, they wanted to do something the group had never done before.

“Typically we participate in activities such as cleaning up Belle Isle or volunteering at a 5k,” said Erin Cromwell, ’18, president of DSP, “but this year, since it was right around Easter, we wanted to do something a little different.”

So Emily Baer, ’18, vice president of community service for DSP, reached out to Hands On Greater Richmond and found out about their latest need: Easter eggs.

“We decided to hold an event during one of our chapter meetings and fill Easter eggs for an Easter egg hunt benefitting Housing Families First and the Peter Paul Development Center,” Baer said. “We had a blast.”

Baer and Cromwell, along with the 70 members of DSP spent an afternoon working together filling Easter eggs with candy, and reflecting on the difference it can make in the community.

“We could fill Easter eggs during one of our chapter meetings for an Easter egg hunt on Easter, which is just so fun for the families that these groups serve,” Cromwell said. “It was a way for us to do a lot of good, without even having to leave campus. It just shows you how much of a difference you can make right in your own backyard.”

The group then visited Hands On Greater Richmond to drop off the eggs in preparation for the hunt Easter weekend.

“It drove the point home of who we’re helping, and how this will really make an impact in these kids’ lives,” Cromwell said.

Peter Paul Development Center is an outreach and community center serving Church Hill and neighboring communities in Richmond’s East End. It partners with Housing Families First, a non-profit which helps homeless families in the Richmond area, every year to host an Easter egg hunt for the children and families they serve.

“Seeing the joy that you can bring people in need is a feeling that is indescribable,” Baer said. “I know that we brightened the day of at least one child in the Richmond community and that’s a great feeling. Everyone who celebrates the holiday deserves to wake up on Easter morning and search for the eggs that the Easter Bunny has left out for us to find. Our chapter wanted to make sure that kids in our larger community could have this experience, just like we all did growing up.”

She and Cromwell agree, this experience can also teach them the importance of continuing to give back to the communities they will call home after graduation.

“It reminds us that business is about a lot more than profits and money, there are people involved,” Cromwell said. “Hopefully when we are out in the business world, we’ll be able to give back, and make that a part of our life and our code of ethics. What you’re doing impacts a lot larger than your company and yourself.”

You can find out more information about Hands On Greater Richmond programming here.