[33girl]

Our 2 national philanthropies are Special Olympics and the S June Smith Center. Special Olympics is great for hands on, if you can get in, because every org on campus and the community is tripping over themselves to do it. S June is in Lancaster, PA. The sisters at our chapter at Millersville are close enough to do a lot of hands-on there, but other than them, it's all donations.

I totally agree that philanthropy should be doing, not just donating. Especially in small towns where the presence of Greeks is not readily accepted or understood. Sisters told me that when we did fundraisers for S June people asked why we were working for an organization in Lancaster, when there was so much that needed done in Clarion. Maybe groups with hundreds of people can do their multiple national plus local philanthropy, but it's not always that easy.

This is how I think it should work: each GLO should have a national phil that is primarily donations, with each chapter having an annual event to donate to it. Then each chapter should pick a local philanthropy. I think this would do a world of good to help relations between Greeks and the community. Plus people are more likely to enjoy participating if it is a cause near & dear to the chapter's heart.