New York Chapter Aids Needy Families

By Rose Cahalan in Chapters on February 21, 2012 at 3:41 pm | No Comments

It’s often said that volunteers gain as much from their service as they give. In the case of the Texas Exes New York Chapter, some young alumni got a head start on a skill most of them haven’t practiced yet: parenting.

As part of their Feb. 9 service at Baby Buggy, a New York nonprofit that donates childcare items to families in need, about 25 alumni sorted children’s toys by age group. One of their tasks was to look at a toy and decide whether it was for a child aged 0-2, 2-4, or more than 5 years.

“Given that our alumni base skews younger, most of us don’t have kids and so we were all over the map when guessing ages,” says Neel Gupta, BBA ’05, Life Member, who chaired the event.

“The most interesting part was guessing to which age group a toy belonged,” says Daniel Pena, BS ’07. “Many times I’d guess, then look at the manufacturer’s suggestion on the box and see that I was way off.”

The volunteers also cleaned and inventoried donations like cribs, baby clothing, and strollers.

The event was part of Texas Exes Care About the Project, a service initiative that has drawn hundreds of alumni volunteers to help their communities throughout the month of February.

Gupta says another benefit of the event was that it attracted some new faces to the chapter. “Many of the alumni in attendance were people who don’t normally come to Texas Exes events—volunteering is a great way to draw more people into the Texas Exes family,” he says.

“I was overjoyed at the new [to us] Texas Exes who participated in this project,” says chapter president Zoe Wilson, BS ’07, Life Member. “We received so much positive feedback that we will be planning similar events soon.”

Photo courtesy Neel Gupta.

Tags: care, chapters, community service, new york, project, volunteering