For college students, remote learning, closed campuses, and lack of sporting events are a daily reminder of how much the pandemic has interrupted the college experience. Though unfortunate and disappointing, Wayne State University’s Alpha Kappa Psi (AKP) knows situations are much worse for many others and decided to do something to help those struggling.
The co-ed business fraternity is the largest on campus with more than 80 members that consist of a wide mix of majors, backgrounds, ethnicities, and beliefs.
“One of our founding principles is service.” said Mary Consiglio, vice-president of AKP who is expected to graduate in August 2021.
“We have been meeting virtually and decided we wanted to do something to help individuals impacted by the pandemic. We chose The Children’s Foundation as our charitable recipient because of the great work it does in the community, especially during these uncertain times.”
The idea, initiated and lead by brothers Shaima Khan and DJ Jeffries was to create a BINGO board look-alike graphic with each square containing different dollar amounts. For approximately ten days in September, members posted the card to their Instagram stories to share with respective followers who pledged donation amounts – the goal was to get a pledge for each square, covering the board. Dollar amounts ranged from one to ten dollars, which was easy to ask of peers, and quickly added up to a tremendous amount.
AKP made their $1,033 contribution to The Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund which has provided more than 40 organizations with funding that directly serves communities impacted by the pandemic.
“What I love about being involved in AKP is that we come together for one collective goal and in the process, better ourselves,” said Consiglio. “All these people are pushing me to do better. This is just one example of that.”
