Giving Support to the March of Dimes

Many people rolled over in their beds this morning when the alarm went off. After all, it was Saturday. No work. No school. No schedule to keep. But for many of the men from Gamma Pi chapter, today was a day to show up and be counted as a way of reaching out to the local Prince George's County community. About 30 Brothers from the chapter showed up and showed out at Watkins Regional Park today to grill, prepare and serve breakfast and lunch to more than 300 people who participated in the annual March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon. The chapter pulled double duty at the event by also manning the various checkpoint stations scattered along the walking course, offering water to walkers.

Today's work for the March of Dimes is part of Gamma Pi's ambitious Social Action agenda.
"They know they can count on us to handle this. They basically leave this portion up to us. They say, 'just do what you do.' This isn't even a mandated event for Omega Psi Phi, but it is for the Alphas and the Zetas and we outnumbered them," said Brother Steven Walls, longtime organizer of the event for Gamma Pi. Activities began at 7 a.m. and Walls and many of the Brothers arrived much earlier -- at the crack of dawn -- to ready the grills and the food. By noon, the Walk-A-Thon crowd had largely cleared out.

Gamma Pi doesn't participate in the actual walking activity, but the chapter is responsible for bringing the event to the county some 15 years ago after it was initially set up in neighboring Charles County. "They've been trying to get us to get a (walk) team together for Gamma Pi. I heard one of the neophytes is talking about putting together a team."

If you didn't make today's activity, visit the March of Dimes on the Web and offer your support. In the short video clip below, Brothers take a few minutes to relax and clown around a bit after the work is done.