Tabs for St. Jude...it's a team effort

In the past, the Beta Pi Chapter of Huntsville, AL collected soda can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. At the 2009 St. Jude Mall Walk at Madison Square Mall in Huntsville, Beta Pi members saw members of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church carrying signs to support Maddie, a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patient and church member. After speaking with members of the church, Beta Pi unanimously decided to direct their support to St. Jude and little Maddie.

Judith Londene, Alabama ESA St. Jude Senior Coordinator's husband Fred, through a business contact, was able to gather 276,575 tabs, filling the trunk of his car. Beta Pi members collected 30,000 tabs. On April 6, 2010, a record 306,575 tabs were delivered to the Good Shepherd Church to be recycled and exchanged for money for St. Jude.

Well done, Beta Pi. It is through your dedication and kindness (and lots of soda) that you make a difference in the lives of the kids of St. Jude.

With ESA help St. Jude Dream Home is a Success

After having his name drawn from nearly 9,000 entries, Dan Adams is thankful every time he drives down his street to his home. Dan Adams was the winner of the St. Jude Dream Home giveaway in 1996. The St. Jude Dream Home giveaway is coming up on it's 20th year of operation. The fundraiser started in Shreveport and grew from the idea of Dr. Donald Mack after someone in 1991 offered to donate a prefabricated home. The event has turned into one of St. Jude's biggest events and has raised more than $155 million since its start in 1991. Mack assembled the help of Epsilon Sigma Alpha to handle all the tickets sales for the giveaway. "The first year was a hard year," said Martha McGee, one of the original ticket sellers. "It was a learning year. We were doing everything by hand. We had a loose-leaf notebook, and we numbered everything by hand." Once the popularity of the event grew the members of ESA began to play a much larger role in the giveaway. "We staff the dream house during open houses, we work at the telethon when it's in conjunction with the dream house," McGee said. "We answer the 10 millions questions people have to ask. We still handle all ticket sales."

St. Jude Dream Home Marks 20th Year

In 1991 Dr. Donald Mack of Shreveport, LA was offered a prefabricated house to use as a fundraiser for St. Jude. Now, 20 years later, the St. Jude Dream Home is one of the biggest fundraisers for the hospital, having raised more than $155 million dollars nationally. Dr. Mack relies on members of Epsilon Sigma Alpha to head tickets sales for the Dream Home. To read more about the Dream Home and how ESA has helped to make this event so successful, click here.

Chattanooga ESA supports St. Jude through Dream Home

During Tennesse's Epsilon Sigma Alpha state convention, chapters learned that they raised $102,634.21 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2009-2010 and remain in the top 10 states for fundraising efforts for St. Jude. As part of a nationwide effort by ESA to raise funds for St. Jude, Chattanooga ESA chapters (Alpha Beta, Delta Rho, Gamma Chi, Omicron Mu) are once again handling ticket sales for the annual Dream Home Giveaway. For more information, view the article here.

Alpha Gamma celebrates Memorial Day

Members of Alpha Gamma Chapter of Grand Prairie, Texas, visited Veterans Memorial Park during Memorial Day where they honored America's troops for their Hope for Heroes: an Epsilon Sigma Alpha National Event project. A permanent plaque will soon be installed to showcase all that Alpha Gamma did for our soldiers this past year.

ESA receives heartfelt thanks from soldiers abroad

In appreciation for all that Epsilon Sigma Alpha does for our heroes abroad, Sergeant First Class, Steve Toth, wrote a heartfelt thank you to ESA members that participated in Hope for Heroes, addressing the letter to his "Heroes at home": "I want to thank each and every one of you, your families, friends, various businesses and organizations who have supported us during this deployment. Our heartfelt thanks is beyond words for the cards, e-mails, letters and packages y'all sent us. You have taken the time and made the effort to support us during our mission to defend freedom of not only America, but the freedoms of our neighbors all over the world -- as we are doing here in Afghanistan."

Well done everyone, this is what it's all about!

Virginia Tech takes Relay for Life prize

Epsilon Sigma Alpha members of Omega Psi, Chapter of Virgina Tech and Blacksburg, VA, won "Best Looking Campsite" at Virginia Tech's Relay for Life for the second year in a row! According to member Kristin May, the relay went well -- with Omega Psi raising a total of about $3,500 with almost every member in attendance. Congrats and great work!