Philanthropy

Adopt-a-beach: Seabrook, New Hampshire

With assistance from the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, Lambda Chi Alpha and Alpha Chi Omega have adopted a 1-mile stretch of Seabrook Beach, New Hampshire. Our first visit together to Seabrook Beach was on the morning of April 4, 2009. We picked up just over 25 pounds of trash on our first visit, ranging from bottle caps to lobster traps, fishing line to rope and twine, as well as countless cigarette butts and miscellaneous pieces of styrofoam and plastic. We record data about the abundance and variation in the trash that we pick up to aid Blue Ocean Society in their marine debris monitoring program. We recognize that it is important to keep the beach clean not only for the safety of beachgoers, but also for the threat debris poses to wildlife, such as the endangered piping plover which nests in the area. Lambda Chi Alpha and Alpha Chi Omega return to the beach regularly to ensure it is clean.

Annual Teeter-totter-athon

Every spring, the brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha construct a giant teeter-totter that is rode in shifts for 24 consecutive hours. In recent years we have teamed up with Alpha Phi Sorority, and Teeter-totter-athon has took place on Thompson Hall lawn in early May. Donations are collected throughout Teeter-totter-a-thon from passer-bys and those in attendance, and 100% of the donations go to the Brian Hanafin Memorial Fund Scholarship. The event is a fundraiser in memory of our Brother Brian M. Hanafin, who passed away in 2004 due to brain cancer. Brian was an English major and a great soccer player, as he was named All New-England. Past President Chris Norman described him as "a happy-go-lucky kid. He brought a lot of laughter to the house. He was real easy to get along with and brought a certain atmosphere of fun into the house." To learn more, donate, or to become involved, contact our philanthropy chairman.

Every year, there is a BBQ at Kappa Delta Sorority following completion of Teeter-totter-athon. The proceeds of the BBQ also go to the Brian Hanafin Memorial Scholarship Fund. For details regarding the BBQ, contact the sisters of Kappa Delta.

International Lambda Chi Alpha Philanthropy: Annual North American Food Drive

On November 6, 1993, Lambda Chi Alpha began an international philanthropy project that has raised more than 26.9 million pounds of food for the needy across North America. Called the North American Food Drive, this annual event has arguably become the largest single-day philanthropic project sponsored by a collegiate organization. Its success is so impressive that Lambda Chi Alpha became the first fraternity to receive the Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives in 1995, an award presented annually to associations and companies nationwide as part of its Associations Advance America Awards Program.

The North American Food Drive not only provides a means for our members to give to the needy, but it serves as an excellent opportunity to put the ideals of Lambda Chi Alpha into action.

In 2001, the North American Food Drive yielded 2.9 million pounds of food as 154 chapters and colonies reported totals for the November 3 event. On November 5, 2005, 123 chapters participated in the North American Food Drive collecting our largest year total to date: 3.315 million pounds of food.

In November of 2006, Lambda Chi Alpha at the University of New Hampshire made a goal to collect 1,000 pounds of food. We more than doubled our goal with a collection of 2,200 pounds. The food was donated to the Dover Food Pantry and the Wolfeboro Food Pantry.

In November of 2008, the chapter partnered with Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority and reached out to the communities of Durham, Dover, and Newmarket. The result was 2,000 pounds of food which was then donated to the Dover Food Pantry. The event was published in The New Hampshire (TNH), UNH's student-run newspaper. The article may be read here.

To be involved locally, contact our chapter's Philanthropy Chair (High Theta). The NAFD takes place in late October and early November. Donation bags are distributed door-to-door one week, and collection takes place the following week.