Five members of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority gave up the luxuries and modern convenience of their bedrooms on Sunday night to raise money, goods, and awareness of homelessness in Middletown.
Shelissa Newball ’05, Vanessa Grant ’06, Chai Bishop ’05, along with fellow sorority sisters Dawna Sams and Tiffany Johnson, a graduate student at Southern Connecticut Community College, organized a sleep-out on the main floor of the Exley Science Center from 7 p.m. until 9 a.m. Monday morning.
The Zeta sisters, who took shifts sleeping during the night, collected non-perishable goods, money and new and used clothing from students and other members of the Wesleyan community as they passed through the Science Center. The sorority members will give the donated food to the Amazing Grace Food Pantry and clothing to the Salvation Army, both located on Main Street.
“This not a normal food and clothing drive,” Grant said. “People are more inclined to give because of the sacrifice we are making. We are trying to be a visible sign of the issue of homelessness in the community.”
According to Newball, the president of the chapter, the sleep-out was a success, and more people than expected made donations. Many students stopped at the donation table to drop off food that they had recently purchased from Weshop.
“It was a lot easier to organize programs this year because there are five Zetas in the area, and three on this campus,” Newball said. “Last year I was the only one on campus. I am excited about many of the things we will be doing in the future because together the five of us can do so much more.”
Sean Corlett ’07 showed his concern for the issue by joining the Zeta sorority sisters in their 14-hour sleep-out.
“I think it is important that we come together to help out those people who might be overlooked by society,” Corlett said, who stayed up most of the night helping to raise donations while intermittently working on an economics problem set.
This weekend’s sleep-out is the first of several events that the Zeta sisters will be hosting each day until Saturday for Finer Womanhood Week, which the all chapters of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority celebrate during the last full week of February.
“During Finer Womanhood Week, we try to partake in activities that promote the four principles [of the sorority]: sisterhood, service, scholarship, and finer womanhood,” Sams said. “It is the last principle that is unique. [This principle] is about uplifting women in mind, body, and spirit.”
On Monday, Feb. 21, the Zetas passed out Hershey kisses along with statistics about premature births in the United States and information about the March of Dimes walk. The Zetas are holding a discussion on maintaining a healthy sexual lifestyle in college. Ann duCille, Kenan Professor of the Humanities and Professor of English, will be giving a lecture on the life and writing of Zora Neale Hurston, who was also a Zeta sister.
Finer Womanhood Week will culminate with a fundraising party at Mocon on Friday and a dessert tasting on Saturday night. The Zetas, however, will continue holding community service and scholastic projects throughout the month of March.
“The celebration and activities of Finer Womenhood Week continue to be celebrated until the end of March, which is National ZHope month,” Sams said, who added that ZHope stands for “Zetas Helping Other People Excel.”
“We are the only undergraduate chapter,” Newball said. “We try to do as much as possible.”
The Zetas are currently trying to work with students at University of Hartford, Trinity College and University of Connecticut to bring some of these events to nearby schools.
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