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ADPi Volunteers: Helping Hands and Hearts

April 25th, 2018
Filed Under: Grand Council | Sisterhood

By Jennifer McGhee Siler, Epsilon Tau, International Vice President of Communications


A volunteer is a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a particular task. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year 62.6 million people in the United States volunteered in some capacity.

Every time we walk into a Ronald McDonald House to clean, work in the yard, fix a meal, or just spend time with the families staying there, we are volunteering and making an impact on someone’s life or improving their day. That aspect of Alpha Delta Pi membership is so important to us as individuals, to our history, and to our communities, that Caralee Strock Stanard included service when she wrote The Creed. “I believe that our motto, “We Live for Each Other,” expresses the true spirit of fraternity; and that by living this motto my life will be enriched by true friendships and by unselfish service to mankind.”

That includes volunteering with a chapter or serving as an International Officer. Alpha Delta Pi depends on alumnae volunteers to keep our organization growing, teaching, learning, and leading on our campuses and in our communities. The women who serve as advisors, mentors, and International Officers, do so because they love Alpha Delta Pi and want other young women to enjoy their time in the chapter as much as they did when they were collegiate members. The organization would not be as strong and vibrant as it is without our volunteers.

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The first two ADPi volunteers I met when I joined Epsilon Tau Chapter were two advisors, Rosemary Wampler, Alpha Kappa—Tennessee at Knoxville and Doris Coady, Pi, Iowa State. They weren’t members of my chapter, but that is not a prerequisite to volunteering in an advisor role, however, they were two of the most inspiring and engaging women I’ve met. Epsilon Tau chapter was installed in 1969, so when I joined in 1971 we were still growing and finding the way to establish our chapter in the organization and on our campus. Mrs. Wampler and Mrs. Coady were strategic in making the chapter successful by attending chapter meetings, special events, guiding our growth as a chapter and spending countless hours just getting to know us. They laughed with us, cried with us, supported and encouraged us, and they touched our hearts. I didn’t see it as much then, as I do now several decades later, but they loved our chapter as if it were their own and their love for Alpha Delta Pi was limitless.

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These two loyal sisters served that chapter for many more years after I graduated and two summers ago, when several of us gathered for a reunion, they joined us for lunch at a local restaurant and enjoyed sharing memories with us. It was a special afternoon, and we all look forward to seeing them again at the chapter’s 50th Anniversary in 2019.

When I graduated, these two women, and a few other members of the local alumnae association, would not let me be idle or forget my ADPi roots. They put me to work immediately, and I thank them for that push of encouragement. The four years of ADPi in college is a wonderful set of memories, but the decades of continued volunteering has shaped me as a person and taught me life skills and lessons that I continue to use each day.

So, the next time you see your advisors or an International Officer or an alumna working alongside you at the Ronald McDonald House, take a moment to look at the person behind the volunteer. See her dedication, caring attitude, and helping hands and heart. And, take the time to talk to her, thank her, and enjoy her friendship and sisterhood.



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