Sarah Zimmerman, Pi Class (S'16) - One way our chapter embraces our philanthropy is through Spring Youth Service Day. Our Philanthropy Chair and our Service Vice Presidents (SVPs) do an excellent job of brain storming, working together, and communicating to help make Spring Youth Service Day what it is. We have worked along side a fellow Inter-chapter Brother alumni a few times for Spring Youth Service Day. What do we do? Our fellow Inter-chapter Brother alumni wants us to give a small tour to her kids (students) and while we do that we also incorporate other activities for her students. For this semester (Spring 2020) our wonderful Philanthropy Chair, SVPs, and Leadership Vice President (LVP) have decided to work together for this special day. They have planned many wonderful activities for these young children while also giving them a tour around our beautiful campus. These activities include creating sun catchers that will be donated to fellow kids, an athletic activity to get the kids running and enjoying the sun, AND a coloring activity to stimulate their creative and artistic skills. As a brother of this fraternity, I am very proud of our Philanthropy Chair, SVPs, and LVP for doing an excellent job of creating this itinerary and I am sure these kids are going to have a time of their life! Another event that our wonderful Philanthropy Chair has created for this semester is our very FIRST Benefit Formal. Our brothers will be having a great night filled of fun, laughter, and winning some prizes while also contributing financially to the organization of our Philanthropy's choice. I am very proud of our Philanthropy Chair, Carmelina Herrera, for putting so much effort, work, and love into her program. It truly shows with how much she cares about underserved youth. I am so grateful for not only seeing the continuous efforts from our Philanthropy chair, but seeing the growth that this program is going towards. Thank you Carmelina for continuing such an amazing philanthropy program!

Yasmin Ahooja, Psi Class (S'20) - I love our relationship with the boys and girls club! I appreciate how you have a lot of freedom in how you interact with the kids. I think this is why the connections we make with kids at the boys and girls club feels genuine and natural. I prefer helping out with the younger kids whereas some people prefer to work with older kiddos.

Abagail Arvidson, Psi Class (F'19) - I really enjoy going to Boys and Girls Club because it is super fun being able to hang out with the kids and do activities that I used to do when I was their age. Boys and Girls Club is my favorite service event to attend because there is something different to do every week and it is a nice feeling when kids remember who you are! At Boys and Girls Club, you can do a lot of activities with the kids; you can play on the playground, play mini games, do arts and crafts, help them with homework, and simply get to know the kids!
Getting to know all the different kids and doing activities with them really brings me back to my childhood and reminds me of my elementary school days. When I talk with the kids I try to picture how I was when I was their age; now I live such a busy life so sometimes I forget that I was once small, energetic, and curious like them. Whenever we have to leave Boys and Girls Club, I feel lively and happy from being able to spend time with the kids.
Boys and Girls Club is a service event that means a lot to me because when my dad was younger, he went to the Boys and Girls Club in Minneapolis and I used to attend PrimeTime in elementary school because both of my parents were constantly working. When I was in elementary school, I would have been super happy to have fun volunteers coming in every week to spend time with me so I wanted to do the same for the kids at the San Diego Boys and Girls Club.

Malaya Cilley, Chi Class (S'19) - The Boys and Girls Club has been one of my favorite philanthropy events ever since pledging! From the many times I have volunteered, I've helped the kids with their homework, played four square, and made slime with them. One of my most memorable experiences volunteering was when I spent my time drawing with a little girl, and when I came back, a semester later, she remembered who I was and asked about the drawing she gave me. Times like this is when I realize how big of an impact we are on the youth, and how important it is to set a good example. 

Jazracanah Zulueta, Psi Class (F'19) - One of my favorite stories was doing an event with Traveling Stories while rushing and spending the whole event with a little girl. She obviously wanted toys which is a such a good incentive but she was also learning things about the books she was reading each time. It was super cute to see her react to certain things in stories and even relate her own life to them. She would even get distracted every now and then and talk about her own life which I happily listened to. After the events ended, I wanted to it again but we haven't done an event with Traveling Stories for a while. The coordinators were so young and I could tell they appreciated our help to a great degree.

Katelyn Lao, Alpha Alpha Class (S'20) - Boys and girls club was an enriching experience that helped me to learn to work with kids.

Justin Tyler Flores, Tau Class (F'17) - One of my favorite events related to Philanthropy is Traveling Stories. Youth literacy is so important to a child's growth and I loved getting the chance to sit with the youth in low-income neighborhoods and read with them. Whether I read to them or they read to me, it was always a fun time. There was one kid who I met there who in the beginning of the session was shy at first but after a couple short stories really opened up and had this genuine smile on his face that really showed he wanted to be exposed to reading and the magic of storytelling. ​

Carmelina Herrera, Chi Class (S'19) - One of my favorite philanthropy events besides Binky Patrol is this semester's Benefit Formal. Our brothers were able to raise $1,180 for Monarch School, which is a K-12 public school in San Diego that educates youth dealing with homelessness. During this event, brothers were able to watch performances from other brothers and have a great time while raising money towards our philanthropy! Sarah Krueger, the volunteer coordinator, personally reached out to us after the event and ensured that our donation would help ensure that Monarch students and families are well-supported throughout the rest of the school year. It was amazing to see our brothers come together to raise money for underserved youth in our community!