The brothers of Delta Upsilon (DU) are focusing their philanthropy on working with the Jespy House in South Orange to align with the fraternity’s motto of “Building Better Men.”
Michael Pacheco, a senior public relations major and external relations chair of the fraternity, talked about how DU’s involvement with the Jespy House ties into its philanthropy as a whole.
“Delta Upsilon’s philanthropy is Global Service Initiative (GSI),” Pacheco said. “DU is all about ‘Building Better Men,’ and we wanted to do something locally to impact our community right here in South Orange. Jespy House was one of the places that were excited to get some help, and we stuck with it.”
The Jespy House is a nonprofit organization committed to helping those who have developmental disabilities live their lives to the fullest potential.
Pacheco shared how his fraternity first became involved with the Jespy House.
“Delta Upsilon got involved with the Jespy House when I reached out to them asking if they wanted any type of help,” Pacheco said. “From there, we started visiting the Jespy House almost every other week when we were allowed.”
Demitri Allen, a junior finance major, also talked about why DU was fond of the organization.
“We had previously been working on reaching out for a new philanthropy for the fraternity,” Allen said. “[We] have always heard about the Jespy House in South Orange and thought it would be an awesome idea to get in contact with them.”
Pacheco said that when the brothers visited the Jespy House, they would spend time with the members there, exchanging stories and getting to know one another.
“They had a sports talk that was a really interactive event for us to chime in on, and we would do whatever activities that were available for that day,” Pacheco said.
Although the Jespy House is currently closed to visitors due to the pandemic, Pacheco said the brothers of DU have adapted to these new restrictions to continue helping out. Instead of visiting the Jespy House, Pacheco said the brothers are donating food to its members.
“They have weekly food drives, and we do whatever we can to raise money and help them out,” Pacheco said.
Colin Popper, a junior finance major, said he wanted to continue working with the Jespy House while they were closed due to “the positivity the clients and staff displayed through adversity under the pandemic, as well as simply how friendly and welcoming they were.”
Daniel Leimbach, a junior finance major, mentioned his favorite parts of working at the Jespy House.
“My favorite part of helping out at the Jespy House is the opportunity to brighten someone’s day and help those in need,” Leimbach said. “One of Delta Upsilon’s founding principles is the promotion of friendship, and the Jespy House gives us the opportunity to do that.”
Pacheco added that DU will continue their outreach with Jespy House throughout the pandemic and in the future.
“Right now, we are doing fundraisers by ourselves and raising money through social media,” Pacheco said. “If we can get the word out, we can help out the Jespy House a lot more; we plan on helping the Jespy House any way we can. We built a really strong relationship with them and plan on keeping it up for years to come.”
