Fraternity brothers host Easter egg hunt


By Aubrey McDonnell
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, March 25, 2005

Members of the Omega Delta Phi fraternity will host a free Easter egg hunt for underprivileged children tomorrow at the Holmes Tuttle Boys and Girls Club.

The fraternity has been planning Easter egg hunts for the Boys and Girls Club for the past 10 years because they like to provide an environment that is fun for both kids and parents, said Adrien Chapman, the fraternity philanthropy chair.

"We pride ourselves in community service," said Chapman, a business senior. "This is an annual event that we plan, and it's something fun for the kids to do for Easter."

John McDowell, senior club director of the Holmes Tuttle Boys and Girls, 2585 E. 36th St., has been working with the ODPhi brothers for as long as they have been volunteering with the organization.

"They are very well received in the community," McDowell said. "The guys provide the eggs and organize the event. It's a really fun event for the kids and the parents as well."

ODPhi spends $800 to $900 on the event, and all of the fundraising money goes back into the community, said David Jimenez, president of ODPhi.

"We have a huge slide for the kids, as well as free drinks and hot dogs," said Jimenez, a senior majoring in Spanish. "There is a dunk tank, relay races and lots of prizes."

This is the third year Chapman has participated in the Easter egg hunt.

"The kids get bad sometimes, they like to mess with you," Chapman said. "We have an egg toss where we play catch with hardboiled eggs, but sometimes they aren't hardboiled so that gets messy."

Chapman said water events such as the dunk tank are also very popular with the kids.

"Last year the water was really cold, and the kids go crazy if they get to dunk you," said Chapman. "The kids get bad sometimes too, one time they grabbed the water hose and started spraying us, it was freezing."

Jimenez said providing the community with their service is a very rewarding experience.

"Two years ago a kid came to the hunt and he was adamant about getting a prize," Jimenez said. "You could tell he had nothing, and when he finally won a prize he cried. It was a cool feeling to know that what we had done for him meant so much."

McDowell said the most important part of the event is bringing the families together.

"Usually the parents just drop the kids off for the Boys and Girls Club program and then pick them up later," McDowell said. "The Easter egg hunt is a good chance for parents and kids to be together and play together."

The hunt will take place in Pueblo Garden Park from noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow, and the ODPhi brothers hope to welcome even more kids than before.

"We have a DJ this year too, it is going to be fun for everyone," Chapman said.