Social Houses Help Charity and Improve Image One Step at a Time

Author: Ashley Elpern

This Saturday, the Zeta Theta Phi (ZOO), Alpha Delta Phi (ADP), Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) and Omega Alpha (Tavern) social houses will be joining forces in the fight against multiple sclerosis (MS). Representatives from each house will participate in the annual MS Walk, a six-mile walk starting at the Middlebury Union High School. While all of the houses have participated in the MS Walk in the past, this is the first year that they will be entered as a group, raising money through sponsorships for each walker. Proceeds will be donated to the National MS Society.

Danielle Perkins '03, ZOO social chair, who coordinated the house's group of participants last year, organized this year's joint effort. "We had our own team last year, and when we got there we saw that Tavern, ADP and KDR had teams as well," she said. "It seemed to me to be more productive to combine our efforts and to work together to raise money for MS research."

Each evening this week, social house members will staff a table at Proctor Dining Hall, raffling off a gift certificate to Mr. Ups to raise money for the walk and also soliciting sponsors for the walkers. "The table is a way for more people to be involved," said Perkins. "That way even those not affiliated with the houses can contribute."

Perkins is particularly attached to the cause. Since her brother is autistic, she has always been involved in community service projects aimed at raising awareness about disabling diseases. "MS affects people in the prime of their lives, and it is incredibly important to spread awareness about the disease, especially as we can be cut off from such diseases at Middlebury," she said.

According to ADP member Robert Trail '02, ADP began its involvement about four years ago. "We realized that this was a great way to help stop a nationwide problem, while getting directly involved with the Middlebury community as well," he said. Each year, the house has put more effort into the event, and last year, Trail said that ADP members gave and raised over $600 for the MS Walk.

The MS Walk has special meaning to ADP, said Brian Ferry '02."We have had members over the past few years who have family members with MS. Therefore, part of our involvement is because we want to show those members support and help out in any way we can," he said.

In a year in which the role of the social house system on campus has been questioned, Perkins said she felt it was important to highlight how the houses contribute positively to life on campus and beyond. "The MS Walk shows the overall togetherness of the system and is just a portion of the community service that we do," she said.

In addition, ZOO, along with ADP, has been involved with senior Oren Frey's dishwashing initiative on campus, giving employees in the dining hall dish rooms time off.

ADP has also recently donated time and money to Operation Smile. "Our membership donated over $300, which ended up being almost a third of all the money raised by Operations Smile's latest Middlebury Symposium," said Trail.

Earlier this year, the house raised over $1,100 for the Peter Westra Memorial Fund, a fund that was set up in honor of the ADP alumnus, who recently passed away, to support Middlebury's intramural program.

Ferry maintained that community service benefited both ADP members and the community as a whole. "Not only do we help others, but our projects also allow us to strengthen our relationships within the house," he said.

Tavern has also been involved in the dishwashing project, according to community service chair Jeremy Shakun '03. In addition to on-campus work, many Tavern members have been volunteering at the Humane Society in town and are involved in individual service projects such as mentoring local students and working with handicapped children.

Shakun was working on setting up a Tavern team for the MS Walk before the four houses banded together. As many members focus on their individual projects, Shakun said, "I just try to set up bigger events, such as the MS Walk, to provide an opportunity for a larger group of us to do service, as well as for those who do not regularly do community service."

"Social houses definitely are places for parties, but it's not exclusively about alcohol," Ferry affirmed. "We want to work together and improve the Middlebury community by offering a social outlet, and at the same time, by lending our manpower and our enthusiasm to activities that have a larger significance. Many members are involved on their own in various activities and service projects, but when an entire social house gets together and rolls up its sleeves to help someone out, it's a pretty amazing thing."