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Leading the Way on Campus

Pilam2When joining Greek Life, the members of your fraternity or sorority become more than just people you meet in college, they become a family. The brothers of pilam5Pi Lambda Phi at Virginia Tech are no different. They support each other, throw water balloons at each other and better yet, host philanthropy events that could have a positive impact on a brother. Going into the new semester the brothers wanted to host a philanthropy event that could not only help a large group of people, but could also bond them further than before. After a little google search and a phone call to Our Military Kids, Andy (Philanthropy Co Chair for the chapter) brought Our Military Kids up to his brothers. One of the brothers shared his story of being a military child during a deployment and how hard that time can be. From that moment on, the brothers of Pi Lambda Phi were dedicated to helping Our Military Kids in many ways. The first event decided on was a percentage night with proceeds from a local restaurant benefiting Our Military Kids. The main event, however, took more time and effort on the brothers. The event was a cookout with a military themed relay race.

Pilam1The cookout had a flat admission fee which included food and a buy in fee for the relay race. The relay race energized all participants, it included a rope ladder, a spider rope obstacle, a tire flip, a balance beam, and then when the clocked timed out, the last person threw a water balloon at their “coach.” After the relay races were over all guests were allowed to purchase water balloons to throw at other guests. “Needless to say, none of the brothers were left unscathed, but it sure created a lot more excitement,” Andy laughed.

All together Pi Lambda Phi raised over $2,000. At Our Military Kids, events like this mean so much to us. The brothers of Pi Lambda Phi are a dedicated group of men who want to support military families. We are excited for what the future holds for this partnership and cannot wait to see more of the Pi Lambda Phi Virginia Tech chapter!    Pilam6

Self-esteem issues and separation anxiety are just two of the side effects children can face when a parent leaves for deployment. Ernest was no different in 2013 when his father deployed for a year. At first Ernest struggled with not seeing his father and talked about him a lot in school. The other children in his preschool would walk in with their fathers and it would take a toll on Ernest. During the deployment, Ernest’s mother, Erikka, did not think they would have the financial means to have her son participate in extracurricular activities. Thankfully, with the help of Our Military Kids, Erikka was able to place her son in soccer. Being in soccer helped in to be more social as well as interact with other fathers on the team. The other fathers made sure to keep Ernest involved in activities so he never felt left out. “It brought us all together and he felt so special,” said Erikka as she remembered the experience for her “star player.” Soccer brought the whole family together during the deployment. Grandparents and Great Grandparents would go to the games to watch Ernest play and he was so excited to show his father his moves on the field as soon as the deployment was over. “[Soccer] it showed my son how much support he really had, which helped tremendously with his self-esteem and separation anxiety,” Erikka praised the help Our Military Kids gave her family. “Although having family to support us through this time was amazing, having some of the financial hardship taken away by receiving this grant provided not only relief but also a never ending smile on my son’s face.  He truly enjoyed learning the sport of soccer and went on to play soccer each summer until he was 5 ½.  Thank you for allowing my son the experience of being a part of such a great program.  His father was also thrilled at the support we received while he overseas.”   Ernest2