Students uplift CHOP patients

For the children of the Adolescent and Surgical Units of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Halloween is a very important day. It is a day when clowns fill the halls, candy decorates every room and special volunteers play games with patients. The brothers of Delta Sigma Pi, the coed professional fraternity of the Wharton School, volunteered their time to help many young patients celebrate Halloween. Delta Sigma Pi brothers participated in the activities provided for the children yesterday at two parties, one at 10 a.m. and the other at 2 p.m. The activities included pumpkin painting and cookie decorating, as well as magic tricks and dances performed by a clown. The purpose of the event was to make Halloween more enjoyable for both the children and the volunteers, said the fraternity's Vice President of Community Service Derek Yan. "We helped watch the children and painted pumpkins with them," said the Wharton sophomore. "We wanted to have fun with the kids." Though Delta Sigma Pi is a professional fraternity, the brothers stress community service as an important aspect of their mission, said the fraternity's President Shannon Hoffmann. "We feel that it is important to be well rounded," said the Wharton senior. "We want to be involved with community service because it adds to the dimensions of our experience." But Halloween parties are not the only community service events the fraternity participates in. "We have worked at the Philadelphia Food Bank and with YUHU, an art program for homeless children," Yan said. The brothers decided to volunteer at the CHOP because they find community service work with children to be rewarding, Hoffmann said. "To bring any excitement to the kids is rewarding to us," she added. "We want them to have a good holiday." And the kids love the volunteers, said CHOP's Director of the Child Life Department Fran Ritter. "It is wonderful to have non-medical, friendly people giving attention to the patients," Ritter said. "It makes the children feel secure." CHOP has been fortunate with the volunteer services provided by students, she added. "We get a lot of volunteers from Penn who provide us with another set of hands and more people to get involved with the children," Ritter said. The children enjoyed both the morning and afternoon parties, said Delta Sigma Phi brother and Wharton sophomore Roshni Lakhiani. "It went really well," he said. "It helps the hospital a lot because there is usually only two people for a lot of kids. Also, it is helpful to have young people involved."