HISTORY OF OUR PHILANTHROPY

 

In December of 1999, Founding Mother Sheila Krishan traveled to India and visited various ashrams (shelters) where young children resided. The purpose of that visit was to find ashrams in India where the Mothers could donate some clothes and various items that were needed. While there, she encountered many young children who had been abandoned because their families could not feed another mouth or because of their gender. While there she learned the stories of many of the children. The head of this one particular ashram was a nun who had the frailest of statures and the gentlest of natures. As she told Sheila each of the children’s stories, Sheila’s heart would break a little bit at the unfairness in life. When the nun had finished, Sheila had turned to her and said that she and her friends would do what they could to help, but it wouldn’t be much. They were only a few hands in an organization with a limited budget. When the nun heard this she replied, “The entire ocean is but a contribution of several single drops of water.” Meaning that each hand that helps is something better than none at all. When Sheila returned to school and retold her experiences, the Mothers realized what they wanted their philanthropy to be.



OUR PHILANTHROPY TODAY

Delta Kappa Delta’s philanthropy is child abuse prevention and awareness. The sisters of Temple University take this philanthropy to heart when they do service. Children are precious gifts that have been given to us from God. It is Delta Kappa Delta’s belief that children should be protected, and in saying that we help out children in need. There are children out there that are mentally, physically, or emotionally abused. We girls take on the responsibility of helping people understand the grave nature of child abuse and ways to take action towards preventing it.  “Each day in the United States, more than 4 children die as a result of child abuse in the home. More than three-quarters of the children who die are younger than four years of age. Of these fatalities, 89% were under the age eight; 43.6% of the children were under the age of one. In 2003, 48.3 percent of child victims were male; 51.7 percent of victims were female. About 83.9 percent of victims were abused by one of their parents. About 40.8% of child victims were maltreated by their mothers acting alone; another 18.8% were maltreated by their fathers acting alone; 16.9 percent were abused by both parents.” It is really heartbreaking to know that child abuse exists in our world.  Delta Kappa Delta is committed to protecting children and creating a brighter future for them.