Living Our Values Everyday: Engagement by Meredith Mitnick
By SDT Headquarters,
These are unprecedented times—the need to lean into our value of Engagement is stronger than ever. Last month, SDT National President, Margaux Manley Lima, encouraged us to turn to our value of Connection. As we strengthen our bond in new digital, ways, we are presented with an opportunity to build on that value of Connection and add action to our connections. Sigma Delta Tau’s value of Engagement is a call to action asking us to “participate in a lifetime experience which provides opportunities and a network of personal and professional support for every phase of a sister’s life.” The current challenges provide an opportunity for us to support one another in a variety of ways.
In addition to so many employees now working from home, campuses across the country have closed, forcing students to move to online learning. This distance not only affects academic experiences, but the greater collegiate life, as well. For our SDT collegians, our National team has created a variety of resources to support active chapter engagement. These include virtual meetings to assist with recruitment training or new member education, shared study sessions, and especially ideas to recognize and honor seniors as they come to the close of their time as collegiate chapter members.
These challenging circumstances have inspired creative solutions. As I write this in the month of April, I am reminded it’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month. In response to this era of social distancing, SDT’s long-time philanthropic partner Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA) has created resources we can all use to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect prevention through different mediums. One of the ways our sisterhood can exercise our value of Engagement is to participate in the PCAA Digital Advocacy Day on Tuesday, April 28th. Though we may not be able to host traditional fundraising or pinwheel events on campuses or in our communities, we have the unique opportunity to engage in a grassroots movement to help improve the world for so many abused and neglected children.
Another opportunity is to utilize Amazon Smile when you shop Amazon—which I know so many of us are using for nearly everything right now. When you shop on smile.amazon.com and select Sigma Delta Tau Foundation as your charity, each purchase will support the SDT Foundation. This small tweak to your online shopping costs you nothing, yet helps to fund scholarships, grants and leadership programs for SDT sisters. You can also utilize Smilematic which will automatically turn your everyday Amazon purchases into AmazonSmile donations. You can find more information on this engagement opportunity on the SDT Foundation website.
This is an uncertain time for everyone. The more we continue to stay engaged with our sisterhood— personally, professionally and within our communities—the more we will be able to provide support to one another. Please join me in committing to live our value of Engagement!
—Meredith Mitnick, Sigma Delta Tau Vice President
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