The men of Alpha Beta Delta at Lehigh University have been busy this semester, doing several philanthropy events to benefit various charity organizations. It’s given the Alpha a chance to give back to their community and bring other students and friends together for good causes.
“We all want to benefit the community as much as we can,” says #1 Cameron Lynch, BΔ ’24. “We want to see the organizations and businesses around the towns of Bethlehem and Allentown do well, and this is one way we can help them.”
In September, the men of Beta Delta held a fundraiser on social media for Tuesday’s Children, an organization that looks after families affected by the 9/11 attacks and other acts of terrorism. They tasked every Brother with raising money on their social media accounts to give to Tuesday’s Children.
“We felt like this was a really touching mission,” says Philanthropy Chair Sam Martin, BΔ ’23. “We each took it upon ourselves to raise money for them by reaching out to our families and friends for donations.”
Most of the Alpha’s philanthropic efforts have been virtual, due to the limitations of COVID-19. But they did also participate in Hawkathon – an annual event held by an on-campus organization that benefits the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – and a charity soccer game with Alpha Phi.
At Hawkathon, Martin says, the men of Beta Delta gave out candy around Halloween and played mini-golf with kids using a makeshift green.
“This was such an awesome opportunity for a unique community service event,” he says. “We set up a station at the fundraiser and all Brothers and kids who took part had a blast!”
In the month of November, the Alpha is participating in Movember by again reaching out individually to ask for donations. Several of the men are growing out their mustaches to raise as much money as possible for awareness for testicular and prostate cancer.
“Everyone is pretty excited about Movember,” says Lynch. “We can have some fun with growing out our mustaches while giving back to a good cause. It’s a fun and inclusive way to do philanthropy.”
Just a couple weeks into Movember, things are moving along at a fast pace – both in terms of donations and mustache-growing.
“So far, we all look hideous,” laughs Martin. “More importantly, though, we have raised a good amount of money already and the donations are continuing to roll in!”
In the near future, the men of Beta Delta are also preparing for a potential 3-on-3 basketball tournament with two other Greek organizations on campus. This would benefit The Eileen Fund, which is dedicated to curing cancer through precision medicine. They also want to revive a tradition of cooking and serving a meal at a homeless shelter.
“It’s important to emphasize that we are always looking for creative ways to do the right thing,” says Lynch. “Part of being a Chi Psi is helping our community and our school, and we enjoy doing just that.”
To give to the Beta Delta Movember fundraiser, Venmo them at @sam-martin-41!
