THETA IOTA
|
|
|
As we slowly recover from COVID, our Theta Iota Chapter has continued its noteworthy service to a local elementary school, Capistrano, and has impacted hundreds of students, teachers, and families since 2016, all thanks to the generous support of the ASTEF Foundation and our chapter’s generous donations of time, connections, and personal funds. Capistrano, located on the U.S./Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, has a primarily Hispanic and economically disadvantaged student population and is located in one of the nation’s poorest income quartiles with the lowest level of economic mobility. Families work hard to support their children and value education, but families rarely have any funds to buy books after providing for their household’s basic needs. These equity disparities have been even further exacerbated by the pandemic and its disproportionate health and economic effects on Hispanic populations. However, despite these barriers and inequities, the students love learning and demonstrate gratitude for our small and large acts, and the school is genuinely dedicated to improving the quality of life for its students, their families, and the overal community. Despite challenges brought on by the pandemic and current economic challenges, our chapter, with the ASTEF Foundation’s generous support, has been able to maintain its momentum and impact with this incredible school.
Theta Iota’s past ASTEF projects have provided school supplies, uniforms, composition notebooks with tabs and headphones, books, and field trips for Capistrano students. We have continued our efforts to provide school supplies and other necessary materials and invaluable experiences for students and teachers. When economically disadvantaged students’ families cannot afford to purchase school supplies, their teachers often pick up the slack by using their personal funds to buy school supplies. Based on dialogue with the Capistrano teachers, several of whom are also Theta Iota chapter officers, we focused our 2021-2022 ASTEF project, Leading with Literacy, to focus on providing books with sight words for students and to be able to provide at least one book per student. However, with increasing inflation and follow-up conversations with the school’s educators, we decided to give multiple books to all kindergarten and second graders instead of supplying only one book per student in kindergarten through third grades. The books were distributed in May 2022. Many of these students do not have any books at home, so being able to furnish students with books of their own is a real game changer and will help encourage students to practice their reading over the summer. Our chapter was also able to procure school supplies and shirts from El Paso Community College (EPCC). Distributing these supplies and shirts, all with the EPCC logo, helps children meet their basic needs and also helps build a college-going culture at the school.
In addition to benefitting the school, our work with Capistrano has renewed and excited Theta Iota and helped us recruit and retain members. Our ASTEF project has also been crucial to holding the chapter together in these difficult times, a lifeline of love and connection in times marked by loss, trauma, unrest, and isolation. As we emerge from the pandemic and adjust to new realities and paradigms, our connection to Capistrano has been an enduring constant. The ASTEF grant has helped us grow this important work while growing and strengthening the chapter. Our chapter truly appreciates ASTEF and the Texas State Organization of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International members for their substantial donations that help provide these essential grants.
Theta Iota’s past ASTEF projects have provided school supplies, uniforms, composition notebooks with tabs and headphones, books, and field trips for Capistrano students. We have continued our efforts to provide school supplies and other necessary materials and invaluable experiences for students and teachers. When economically disadvantaged students’ families cannot afford to purchase school supplies, their teachers often pick up the slack by using their personal funds to buy school supplies. Based on dialogue with the Capistrano teachers, several of whom are also Theta Iota chapter officers, we focused our 2021-2022 ASTEF project, Leading with Literacy, to focus on providing books with sight words for students and to be able to provide at least one book per student. However, with increasing inflation and follow-up conversations with the school’s educators, we decided to give multiple books to all kindergarten and second graders instead of supplying only one book per student in kindergarten through third grades. The books were distributed in May 2022. Many of these students do not have any books at home, so being able to furnish students with books of their own is a real game changer and will help encourage students to practice their reading over the summer. Our chapter was also able to procure school supplies and shirts from El Paso Community College (EPCC). Distributing these supplies and shirts, all with the EPCC logo, helps children meet their basic needs and also helps build a college-going culture at the school.
In addition to benefitting the school, our work with Capistrano has renewed and excited Theta Iota and helped us recruit and retain members. Our ASTEF project has also been crucial to holding the chapter together in these difficult times, a lifeline of love and connection in times marked by loss, trauma, unrest, and isolation. As we emerge from the pandemic and adjust to new realities and paradigms, our connection to Capistrano has been an enduring constant. The ASTEF grant has helped us grow this important work while growing and strengthening the chapter. Our chapter truly appreciates ASTEF and the Texas State Organization of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International members for their substantial donations that help provide these essential grants.