Greek, middle school students come together
Greek Week is around the corner, and with it comes philanthropy and community service.
As in years past, the Greek organizations of Eastern will be hosting Fun Days at Jefferson Middle School April 22.
“This is an event when we are able to see the direct effect of what we do and not having to wait to see the result,” said Carissa Coon, president of the Panhellenic Council.
This is an event the Jefferson students and Eastern students both enjoy, she said.
There will be approximately 180 college students volunteering throughout the day, said Meghan Matthies, chair of the Jefferson Fun Day.
The day will be broken up into 3 sessions: 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. with the sixth grade, 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with the fourth grade and 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. with the fifth grade and the hearing impaired students.
“During each session, the Greek students get the opportunity to interact with the Jefferson students,” Matthies said.
During their hour-and-a-half time slot, each grade will spend 30 minutes in three different sections: in the gymnasium, outside and with crafts.
“In the gym, they are split up into 10 teams and paired up with a Greek student, where they get to participate in several relay races,” Matthies said. “From there, they will be going outside.”
This year, the volunteers will have a dunk tank and a giant inflatable slide for the Jefferson students to use.
“Finally, they go back to their classroom to do crafts,” Matthies said. “This is where they learn about our philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Hospital.”
Coon said one particular student sticks out in her memory from last year.
“A student last year had a box of crayons he brought out when we were doing crafts,” Coon said. “Inside the box he had his baseball cards and he decided he would send his favorite one to a patient at St. Jude’s Hospital. It’s neat to see the kids do selfless things.”
This year, the Jefferson students will decorate picture frames that will be sent to St. Jude and bookmarks, which they get to keep to remember the day.
Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7942 or
