Petit Jean Service Award... Chi Omega Pi exudes spirit of service As Kim Ewing and Michell e Johns, juniors, si t on the bench watch ing people wa lk by, they wonder who will vic timize them next. Then it happen~. A young girl steps up , pays her dollar, and the two Chi Omega Pi members splash into freezing cold water. Every September, members of Chi Omega Pi vol unceer to sit in the Sea rcy Civitan Dunk Tank at the Wh ite County Fai r in order to ra ise money for (he Searcy Sunshine School. T his, however, was juSt one of the many se rvice projects the club panicipated in this year. In I Peter 5:5, Pete r commands the Christians to "clothe themselves with humility," reminiscent of John 13 when Chri st washed the disciples feet. providing the ultimate example of servanthood. Each year the Petit Jean staff, along with a panel of judges, chooses one social club to receive the Petitjean Service Award. Thi s year the Petit j ean scaffproudly awarded thewomen of Chi Omega Pi the award for service [0 their school and community. "It's humbling [0 know chac others see our service projects as beneficial," Shauna Lee, jun ior, said . "We always try to keep God and ochers ahead of ourselves." Marie Anderson and Deidre Machis, service projecc d irec[Ors, se r a goal for rhe club [0 be involved in a differem service projecr each momh. "We wanted che gi rl s to have a vari ecy of proj ecrs [0 get involved in," Anderson sa id. Besides supporting a young boy in Hai ti through Compassion Interna rional, Chi Omega Alai na Belch and Andrea Hall, juniors, bake cookies fo r the dorm mothers on campus. Chi Omega Pi showed their appreciation to the dorm mothers each semester by making them goodies. Pi wo rked regularly wirh Searcy's Sunshin e School, a school for t he menta ll y handicapped . Ad di cion al service projeccs thi s year included vol un teer in g ar che Ba rcered Women 's Shelcer, raising money for the Davis Center , an ad ulc daycare facili ty, and baking cooki es for all of rhe dorm mothers on campus. "The girls are always focused on serving others. Every day there seems [0 be a new noce in the club box about someone needing prayers or an upcom ing service project," Beau Chad Hicks sa~ti . "Their hearts and minds are very focused on serving." Pa rri ci pa ting in se rvi ce projecrs hel ped che girl s es tabli sh relacionships wirh members of t he Sea rcy communicy, according to Lee. "The children ar che Sunshine School are a blessing everycime we visic them," she sa id. "They are always so cheerful. " Many of rhe girl s also found che experiences valuab le co rhei r training in vocacional ministry and mi ssions fields. "The people are such a blessing because rhey give me an opporcunity [0 serve them," Sara Mulliken, sophomore, said. In the fu ture, the lad ies of Chi Omega Pi hope co conci nue se rving the commun ity and the school. ' 'The joy on the faces of the people we help is such a reward," Lee sa id. "I hope everyone at Harding takes advantage of the opportunities we have [0 serve ." -Jennifer Burton Martha Pupko, junior, talks to Melody Bryan, freshman, on the Front Lawn during Bid Day, Oct. 24. Commitment Week provided the first opportunity for new members to get involved in service projects. PetitJean ServiceAward 229
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