Delta chapter marks 50 years of service in the south suburbs
A commitment to community service prompted a team of 17 African American women to launch the Joliet Area/South Suburban Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and that commitment continues as the group marks its 50th anniversary this month.
“We started as a small chapter and have grown to, at times, to over 500 members. I’m really proud of all of our service work,” said Homewood resident Yvonne Wells, a founding member.
The chapter has about 450 members, and its community service work includes partnering with Blessings in a Backpack to help provide weekend meals to food insecure students in the south suburbs, said chapter President Aisha Barnes.
“Every month, we pack over 600 bags for students,” Barnes said. “We partner with a school and rotate the schools every two years.”
They are now partnered with Harvey Elementary District 152, she said.
The organization’s KISS 100 program, an acronym for Kindness in Service and Sisterhood, annually conducts a Midwest Impact Day of Service.
“We blanket our service area and perform 100 acts of kindness and service,” Barnes said. “We partner with other organizations.”
Last year, the focus of the day was literacy. The Delta chapter felt the topic was important particularly amid initiatives in parts of the country banning books. During the day, it held literacy fairs, distributed banned books and talked to parents about the importance of their children developing healthy reading habits, Barnes said.
They read aloud to 100 children, obtained 100 parent literacy pledges, registered 50 new families for library cards and gave away 1,500 books to children including 50 banned books written by African American authors. Among the banned books they gave away were: “The Hill We Climb,” by Amanda Gorman; “The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person” by Frederick Joseph; and “All Boys Aren’t