This year, we, the gentleman of Sigma Phi Epsilon, have decided to give back to not only one national organization but in addition, three local San Diego organizations. All three SigEp chapters will be combining to give to our national benefactor, Youth Aids.
Youth Aids is an education and prevention program of PSI, using media, pop culture, music, theatre and sports to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. It reaches 600 million young people in more than 60 countries with life-saving messages, products, services, and care.
Youth Aids strives to stop the facts that:
- Every day, over 6,800 people contract HIV and over 5,700 die from AIDS
- 33.2 million people are living with HIV
- AIDS kills one child every minute
We believe giving back to a national organization that strives to prevent a deadly disease from spreading is a great cause, but we also believe that we need to give back to San Diego as a community and the community amongst our university as well.
We have chosen Feeding America, San Diego (formerly known as Second Harvest) for our local charity to benefit the local San Diego community. Feeding America San Diego is the newest food bank and the only non-profit in San Diego County that has access to Feeding America National. They collect food donated by national manufacturers such as Kraft, Del Monte, and Kellogg's and are in constant need of funds to continue their efforts.
For every dollar donated they can provide 10 pounds of emergency food to hungry families in San Diego. This makes them one of the most effective and efficient hunger-relief non-profits in San Diego County.
As for benefiting our community as a university, we’ve decided to give back to the University of San Diego by seizing the opportunity to raise money for the new Student Life Pavilion. This will be accomplished by raising $2,500 for a tile that will be placed in the Plaza Mayor. The catch is, whoever wins the First Place for the University of San Diego SigEp Sun Cup, they will have their sorority’s letters placed on the tile, leaving a legacy forever.