.. LOM~\NED F"OR..LES Each year members of Harding's chapter of Alpha Chi participated in a service project sponsored by the National Alpha Chi. This usually took the form of a book drive in which donations were delivered to specific literacy projects. "Last year, more than 2,000 children's books were collected nationally and donated to literacy projects and a hospital in Indianapolis," director of McNair Scholars Program and sponsor ofAlpha Chi, Dr. Linda Thompson said . "This year, we are continuin g the literacy theme and collecting for ' Reading is FUNdamental' and will be donating the books to Arkansas Children's Hospital.'· As the founder of one of Harding's service organizations, Smiles for Christ and preSident of Harding's chapter of Alpha Chi this year, senior Tadeo Sequeira was in a unique position to combine the efforts of the two groups. In addition participating in the literacy project, Sequeira planned to involve Harding's Alpha Chi members in a Latin festivaVfundraiser on the front lawn . The purpose was to educate people as to th e differen ces between all the Central American countries and also to help raise money for Smiles for Christ to use to support kid s in TeguCiga lpa, Honduras. ·'Most of the American people think we are alike from Mexico down ," Sequeira said. "This is for teaching the American people how different each country is in its currency, background, food, costume, everything." The idea for the festival was to have a booth for each country including Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, £1 Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Nicar agua and Mexico with students who hail from each place stationed there along with some Amer icans as well. People would pay a small entrance fee to come see all of the booths, which would sell food and souven irs from each of the countries. "I' m very excited about our chapter of Alpha Chi getting involved in helping the Smiles for Christ mission this year," Thompson said. "[The event is] designed to help stu dents understand the culture of Central America while enjoying food and fes tivities and, of course , raising money." Wi th the mon ey raised from this project and other Smiles for Christ activi t ies, Sequeira said they planned to buy recycle bins for a school in Honduras and various goods for t h e childre n. Thompson said providing recycling bins "has a dual purpose: To prOVide an ongoing resource to sustain t he ministry, as well as to educate the people of TegUcigalpa about the virtues of r ecycling and being environmentally responsible. " Recognizing the good work Smiles for Christ was dOing, Alpha Chi had the opportun i ty to support them in their efforts. "We are as a group one body with one huge heart ," junior Luz Marchena, a member of Smiles for C hrist said . "We really want {Q make our team to be known among all of Harding. And we are going to do it. We have planned things for Harding to get to know us. We want people to help us. We have a lot of heart and strength to get our goals achieved. " The Latin festival, with help from Alpha Chi members in assisting with the booths and encouraging many p eople to come learn about the differences between Central American countries, was just one more way for organizations on campus to come together and show support for each other's endeavors. Emily Hauptfi and Jennifer Gibson At Amor, Fe y Esperanza, a school in Honduras that works with Smiles For Christ, junior Luz Marchena interviews senior Tadeo Sequeira, June 20, 2009, about the work done at the school. The interview was used as part of a story for a local news network in Honduras. Courtesy of Allons Coello 238 organizations
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