Lambda Sigma hosts charity ball to help kids

A chance to get all dressed up and go to a dance all the while having the satisfaction of… A chance to get all dressed up and go to a dance all the while having the satisfaction of helping out a charity for children.

Lambda Sigma is hosting a charity ball to benefit A Second Chance, which pairs a child with another family member rather than sending a child to an adoption agency or foster care center. Established in 1994, A Second Chance is a nonprofit corporation formally named Kinship Care.

“It’s a great group. They keep children from destroying any form of family and give them a sense of familiarity,” Lambda Sigma member Ellen Durning said.

A Second Chance also offers scholarships for kids who want to go on to college after high school but cannot afford it.

“It motivates kids to have the drive and desire to go on [to college],” Durning said. “It takes the [financial] burden off those who wouldn’t normally be the child’s family.”

Saturday’s formal charity ball starts at 7 p.m. with dinner, dancing and a raffle in the William Pitt Union Ballroom, and costs $20 per person. Lambda Sigma will be presenting A Second Chance with a check for about $1,500.

Leadership skills, community service involvement, fellowship and scholarship are aspects that Lambda Sigma is looking for in its members.

“The best advice I can give [to those interested in Lambda Sigma] is to be enthusiastic,” Durning said. “Everyone has a whole lot of enthusiasm and excitement for charity.

Lambda Sigma inducts 50 freshman each year. Those members are then active their sophomore year.

So far this year, Lambda Sigma has narrowed it down to 77 candidates in the freshman class. All current freshman candidates are also invited to the charity ball.

Lambda Sigma members from Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University and various members from other Lambda Sigma chapters in Pennsylvania are invited to attend Saturday’s ball.

Several representatives from A Second Chance will also be at the event.

“I really enjoy the friendship aspect of it. It’s cool to look around the room and see 49 other faces and know they are involved in school and community service,” Durning said.

Anyone interested in attending the ball should contact Lambda Sigma president Tricia McNeill at pln50@pitt.edu.