We believe that the best way to give back to our community is to give back to all aspects of it, the Jewish community, surrounding Philadelphia community and the Drexel community. Giving back to the community is one of the best ways to show our appreciation for our great city and university.
If you would like to donate to Alpha Epsilon Pi's philanthropy, all you have to do is click below, and you will be taken to our national site. Thank you for your donation!
Jewish Outreach
Delta Rho also participates in the Alpha Epsilon Pi International goal to raise money for Shaare Zedek, a children's hospital in Jerusalem and Chai Lifeline. Previous international philanthropic efforts have included raising over $100,000 for Magen David Adom (of which Delta Rho brothers, alumni and parents raised a combined $3,000) and $135,000 for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Alpha Epsilon Pi strives to be active in the Jewish community as well and enjoys any chance to help out, whether it is something like the Jewish Relief Agency, or something like the Victor Center's (offering testing for Jewish genetic diseases), or even a campus-wide birthday event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Tel Aviv.
One of the single most important events we have done in the recent year was our Walk to Remember. We walked to remember all of the victims of the Holocaust and all those who were hurt and suffered hardship because of it. We walked in silence around Drexel's campus for about an hour, wearing all black, and handing out pamphlets of information to those who were interested in our cause. In addition, once we returned from the walk, we held a small reception for those who participated and we also talked about how unique an experience it was.
The Gift of Life is an organization that started a Bone Marrow drive focused on finding Jewish donors. Throughout the medical research that has been done, it has been proven time and again that people in the same ethnic group are more likely to be matches than any one else. With this is mind, the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Registry was started.
Alpha Epsilon Pi has been nationally partnered with the Gift of Life since 2002, and has been doing bone marrow donor drives across the country on many different college campuses since then. At Drexel, we hold a bone marrow drive at least twice a year. It can be a lot of fun to at least learn about the drive and what it can do and how many lives it has saved already. We at Delta Rho have actually even had one of our brothers called to be told he was a match for donating bone marrow, and he could save a life!
Community Outreach
Our chapter has a tradition of contributing to our community. One of our favorite ways to give back is through the JRA, (Jewish Relief Agency) which helps feed over 1500 needy Jewish families in the Philadelphia area. Our members, along with many other Jewish individuals in the area, help to package food at a distribution center, and then go door-to-door delivering it.
Many members of our chapter have parents, grandparents or great-grandparents who were immigrants to America. Being able to help families who are in a situation similar to what ours once were in is a great privilege. During one of our recent events with JRA, our chapter's members delivered food to over 100 families.
Drexel Outreach
Our chapter is no stranger to giving back to the Drexel community either. On many occasions, we have helped clean up gardens around campus that had fallen into disrepair over time. In addition, we try to help out Drexel by helping its students, such as volunteering to help new students move in to their dorms during New Student orientations and Move-In days. We have even been asked to volunteer and help out as ushers during Commencement ceremonies!
Furthermore, during our annual Greek Week competition, about half of our chapter comes together to volunteer for and help out at the Nick Pipino 5K Run. It is a tremendous honor to be asked to help at an event like this and it give inspiration to ourselves as well as the brothers we have that actually run in the competition.
Another way we involve the Drexel campus is by involving faculty and students in our philanthropic events. Once per term, we hold a AEPi In Your Eye event, where bystanders can donate $1 to pie one of our brothers in the face. This year, we were able to get a number of members of the faculty to agree to be pied for an hour, including Ari Hauben (Director of Office of Campus Activities) and Walter Parrish (Coordinator for Leadership and Community Development). This event raised over $1,000 this year, and will only be stronger in the future as we gain more sponsors and popularity around campus. In addition to this event, during many of monthly events, such as the Jewish Relief Agency and Books Thru Bars, we invite other chapters to take part in these community service events and learn a little bit more about what we do. So far it has been a resounding success!