Founder's Day

*Brothers of Alpha Delta with sisters of Gamma Sigma Sigma: Founder's Day, 2009*

Founder's Day each year is an event, to say the least. Brothers of Alpha Delta meet up on campus and load into various vehicles, car-pooling to the small town of Burnham, approximately one hour south of Orono. Burnham is a town that most have not heard of, with a greater population of cows than people. It's a perfect site, however, for the annual Founder's Day celebration of the Alpha Delta service fraternity. Founder's Day is a chance for the brothers to take a chance from their service projects and spend some time enjoying one another's company in a low-key, relaxed atmosphere. Many speak of Founders' Day as one of their favorite activities that the fraternity does together each year, something fun they can do before the stress of finals hits and school is out for the summer. Founder's Day, as one can judge from the name, celebrates the founding of the fraternity, a time for the brothers to celebrate each other and the values of the fraternity: mainly, service to the university and the community.

Maine Day: Oozeball

One of the most popular events offered at UMaine's Maine Day each spring is oozeball: a game of volleyball played in a wet, muddy pit near the bank of the river behind the steamplant lot on the UMaine at Orono campus. Oozeball was hosted this year by the Alpha Delta service fraternity, which, along with the Gamma Sigma Sigma sorority, was responsible for holding signups for all the different teams that wished to participate in the competition, and for the setup and cleanup surrounding the event. This included tabling in the Memorial Union for a week prior to Maine Day, taking names and payments from the different teams, the final number of which was over 40. Also, rising at 6:00a.m. on Maine Day to get down by the river and dig out the pit that Oozeball would be played in. Afterwards, the brothers were in charge of cleaning up whatever mess they could, taking down the net, and making sure garbage and other clutter in the area was disposed of. Oozeball draws not only dozens of participants, but spectators numbering in the hundreds all come to watch their friends and classmates get down and dirty for some muddy fun. The event is viewed as a bonding experience by the other fraternities and sororities, and simply a good laugh for friends willing to ruin an old pair of clothes and risk looking a little silly in the process. Alpha Delta put in a lot of hard work and was rewarded by the overall success of the event at last week's Maine Day event.

Parents' Night Out (PNO)

Above is a picture taken at last Friday's Parents' Night Out evening, hosted by Alpha Delta and their sister sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma. Parents' Night Out, commonly referred to by the brothers as "PNO", is an event hosted by Alpha Delta and Gamma Sigma Sigma once each semester, usually the weekend directly before finals. It is an evening when the brothers and sisters volunteer to watch children of local parents so that they can have a night off for themselves. This is particularly useful for student parents who otherwise might not have an opportunity to study in solitude without having to look after their children. It is not offered simply to students, however, but is a service available to all families in the community. PNO takes place on the first floor of the UMaine fitness center, where there are basketball courts available to play on, a place to set up a table for bracelet-making and snacks, and plenty of space for the children to run around and have a good time. PNO goes from 6:00p.m.-10:00p.m., allowing parents enough time to get some thing accomplished or enjoy some quality R&R without the youngsters underfoot.

Alpha Delta Brothers are BANANAS for Service

You may recognize UMaine's mascot, Bananas-the-Bear. A cheery, furry figure present at most of the sporting Bananas is easily-recognizable even to those who don't attend to University of Maine. What many don't know is the secret of who Bananas is, underneath the costume. I'm letting out a big secret by sharing that Bananas is actually played by different members of the Alpha Delta fraternity each time Bananas is required to make an appearance. It may not be the typical kind of service the brothers perform, but working as the school's mascot does a lot to bring the UMaine community together- rooting for sports teams, uniting at rallies, and joining in appreciation for the bear that is the representation of who we as UMaine students are: proud. Bananas is the symbol of the pride UMaine students have in regards to attending their university; Bananas is the biggest cheerleader of every student that goes here. Alpha Delta brothers are responsible for bringing this school pride to UMaine, and that certainly constitutes a great act of service for UMaine and the local community.

Food Drive

One of the service projects that the Alpha Brothers do on a weekly basis is food drive. This takes place each Friday afternoon at 2:00p.m., and generally takes approximately an hour to complete. The brothers take the same van that is used for the Late Night Local and collect food left over from all the dining commons on campus, load it into the van, and transport it over to the local soup kitchen in Bangor. This keeps the food from being wasted, as the commons would simply throw it out, and provides food for those in the Bangor community that could not afford to eat otherwise. While it doesn't take much time out of the brothers' day, it is something that has a great impact on needy families in the community and is why the brothers continue to perform this act of service.

Waiting Littles

The Alpha Delta brothers organize and participate in an event that is held once a year called 'Waiting Littles'. This is a day that the brothers spend with children from the local Big Brothers, Big Sisters program who have not yet been assigned their own big brother or sister. Thus the title, Waiting Littles. It is a fun filled day usually spent at the local YMCA where the brothers organize games to play with the children such as dodgeball, bracelet-making, swimming, basketball, soccer, etc. and spend quality time bonding with them. Since they're children, there are of course snacks, which it sometimes seems the brothers enjoy more than the waiting littles! The brothers take this day, usually a Saturday, out of their busy schedules to be a friend to the children, providing what is hopefully a positive influence in their lives as they wait to have their own personal big brother or sister assigned. The children enjoy getting to know the brothers, hearing about what it's like to be in college and talking with them about what they're doing in school, telling them about their friends, home life, and what they themselves want to be when they grow up.

Alex's Lemonde Stand

Alex's Lemonade Stand is a nationwide fundraiser started because of a little girl named Alex who was suffering from cancer. It is now a widespread effort to raise money to help fight against childhood cancer. Stands are setup throughout the U.S. selling lemonade and other lemon products, with the proceeds going toward research to help cure cancer and to treat children patients. The brothers of Alpha Delta work with the Gamma Sigma Sigma sisters to organize several ALS stands throughout the year to raise money for this cause. The stands take place either on campus or in the area, at businesses such as WalMart or Sam's Club, where one was recently held. The brothers and sisters make pitchers of lemonade and bake goods such as lemon-poppyseed muffins, lemon pound cake, etc., and man the stand to sell the goods. After the stand is empty, the money raised is sent to the ALS organization to help fight against childhood cancer and help as many children as possible and have a positive impact on their lives and those of the victims' familes.