Beta Upsilon Involvement
The Delta Gamma Foundation is the philanthropic extension of our Fraternity, which supports Service for Sight and Aid to the Blind. Programming for our Foundation consists of three components; Service, Awareness, and Fundraising. Our chapter's work contributing to all three aspects of the Delta Gamma Foundation shows how the Beta Upsilon chapter strives to be a positive representative of our national organization.
Service
Our chapter dedicates itself to service through our Golden Anchor Program established with the local retirement home Corvallis Caring Place. Every day, Delta Gamma's walk over to CCP and participate in fun activities like Bingo and baking. However we also work in the residents' garden, help decorate for the holidays, and assist them with tasks like shopping for personal items at the grocery store. Each Saturday we have open visiting with the residents. Many of our members have used this time to develop personal relationships that have not only enriched the lives of the residents but our own members' lives as well. With each new season and holiday we find new ways to stay connected with the residents of CCP. For Valentine's Day, our members hand made Valentine's for all of the residents. For the week before St. Patrick's Day, we planned a dance for the residents with the the gentlemen from Phi Gamma Delta where we decorated, brought snacks, and spent the evening chatting and dancing with the residents. Each month our members also hand make Birthday Cards for each resident that celebrates their Birthday that month. We generally pass out anywhere from 5 to 30 cards to each resident at their Birthday Party which a group of girls always attends. In addition to our Golden Anchor program, our chapter dedicates itself to service for the foundation by collecting eye glasses for the Lion's Club and collecting Box Tops for Education to send to the Delta Gamma's Schools for the Blind.
Awareness
This section of programming is designed not only to increase member's understanding of the Delta Gamma Foundation but also to increase their knowledge of eye health, visual impairments and sight preservations. As a chapter, we complete many projects to promote Foundation Awareness. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month and so we had Sophomore Emily Lyons, Graphic Design major, created a flyer that our members hung up around campus throughout the month to increase campus awareness about Glaucoma. We also brought in a group of speakers from a local Guide Dog Puppy Raising Club to educate members about the process of training guide dogs, how they are adopted, and the services and freedoms they are able to provide to their masters. We also increased awareness of eye health on the Oregon State campus by passing out Valentine's to other OSU students that featured eye health facts. At the beginning of each term, there is a Foundation Presentation given at chapter to explain the role of our Foundation in relationship to the Fraternity. Beginning each term by sharing the Foundation's purpose and importance with all of our members sets our chapter up to excel in our awareness programming.
Fundraising
During our Fall week long philanthropic event Anchor Splash, our chapter raised over $35,000 this year. We raise this money through “The Most Beautiful Eyes” coin drive, t-shirt sales, Qdoba dinner, pageant ticket sales, and by reaching out to the community, alumni, family, and friends for donations. However, we also hold a smaller philanthropy during Spring term called Anchor Slam. We encouraged participation in this basketball tournament for all OSU students, not just Greek Life, and we were pleased to have a non-Greek affiliated team participate. We also coordinate small fundraising events within our own chapter. This winter term we raised over $1500 by donating old prom and homecoming dresses to be sold to high school girls that might not be able to afford dressed for these occasions at a discounted price through the website VivaDressUp. Our yearlong efforts to fundraise show our chapter's constant dedication to the Delta Gamma Foundation.
To find out more about Anchor Slam and Anchor Splash, please visit our "Anchored in Service" page under "Our Foundation."
