Youth Learn About the Life of a Veterinarian During Recent Que Kidz Dayz Saturday Session

By Bro. Kevin Greenwood

Que Kidz youth enjoy a healthy meal

The Que Kidz event on Saturday, September 20th was a success as there were a total of 15 students that took part in the Social Action Program.  Several of the Que Kidz Committee Brothers exhibited UPLIFT by generously donating several games of Scrabble, Junior Scrabble and Memory. All in all this may have been one of the most exciting programs we have had this year due to the overwhelming participation of the students..


The morning started with a nutritious breakfast of turkey sausage, waffles, fruit and milk, while the Brothers engaged the students in conversations regarding current events and world topics. Once breakfast was complete we arranged the students up in groups of four to participate in several games of Scrabble. Not only did the kids exhibit enthusiasm while formulating words, they also displayed their math skills by managing their own score cards, which required multiplication and addition. The games forced each child to use their own creativity and many were surprised at how well they performed. At first the Brothers were not sure if the kids would be excited about spelling words, but our kids are exceptional and they enjoyed every minute of it! This goes to show that learning can be fun and exciting!

Bro. Greenwood with kids

The second activity consisted of basic soccer drills and fundamentals. There were several Brothers who were soccer aficionados in their younger years and they led a very thrilling clinic for the kids. The kids received roughly sixty minutes of exercise, which is consistent with Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” health initiative. Although time didn’t permit a full scrimmage game, the kids still had a great time learning how to dribble, pass and move through obstacle courses with the balls. Our next Que Kidz Days health activity will be an extension of Saturday’s event, which will consist of a soccer scrimmage and a continuation of the drills and activities.

Gamma Pi Chapter’s very own veterinarian, Dr. Harrison Foy, surprised all of us by stopping through after one of his last animal visits for the day. He allowed the kids to board his state of the art mobile Veterinarian office, spoke to every child about animal health and offered words of inspiration. Many of the kids were excited about the surprise visit and there was at least one that kid that mentioned he wanted to be a Veterinarian just like Dr. Foy.

Bro. Damion Goins watches over free play

Before lunch started, we gave each student a lesson in hygiene by showing them how to properly wash their hands before meals. We discussed the importance of cleaning properly and how that will prevent germs that cause common colds and illness.



Lunch consisted of fresh, homemade vegetable soup and tasty tuna fish sandwiches prepared by our culinary wonder, Bro Darryl Thompson. During lunch the kids gave feedback of their experience for the day and the sentiment was extremely positive.

To cap off the day the students were able to memorize the first four lines of one of our beloved fraternity poems, See It Through by Edgar Albert Guest.

Overall, our kids learned about soccer, Scrabble, hygiene, animal care and how to continue to persevere “when you are up against a trouble”. Photos and video clips by Bro. David White

Man that food sure was good!

Below are a couple video clips:

Gamma Pi Uses Que Kidz Daze to Demonstrate Motorcycle and Bike Safety

Bro. Norwood and Anointed Horsemen Motorcycle Ministry

On Saturday morning, July 21, the raindrops were falling hard in the metro area as a week of off-and-on storms were cooling down recent extreme heat. In the spirit of true Omega men, the Brothers of Gamma Pi chapter effortlessly turned to "Plan B" when a steady downpour put a damper on a live demonstration of motorcycle and bicycle safety rules using real motorcycles. The bikes would have been driven to the Kentland Community Center where the Que Kidz Daze meets.

"Plan B" was an indoor interactive safety lecture that turned out to be just as much fun to the more than 30 young boys and girls gathered for the July session of Que Kidz Daze. Only one motorcycle (instead of several) was brought to the premises due to the weather, but the kids still had big fun as they always do on Que Kidz Saturdays. Brother Orlando McDowell leads Que Kidz Daz which provides monthly enrichment activities for underprivileged youth in the Kentland area on Saturday mornings.

Youth tries on a motorcycle helmet

Brother Don Norwood, a motorcycle enthusiast and president of the Ebenezer AME Church's Anointed Horsemen Motorcycle Ministry (Fort Washington, MD.), led the presentation. "Show me a left hand turned, everybody...Now how do you signal a right-hand turn,?" Brother Norwood said during his talk, as the kids extended their arms all the way out to signal the left hand turn, but some of them missed the ":trick"of the right hand signal by extending their arms all the way to the right rather than the "L"-shaped signal with the left hand to indicate right turns.

Brother Green's souped-up Harley

The Brothers used motorcycle safety laws as a context to discuss bike safety laws with the youth. For example, other topics included what side of thee road to ride on, what age to be on the sidewalk instead of in traffic, how to properly wear protective gear like a helmet and padding, the ABC's of safety checklist and traffic laws.

Brother Clint Green, who is not a member of the Anointed Horsemen,  was the only one to brave the elements and maneuver his bike to the event (see photo). And just as soon as it appeared the rain had stopped, as the kids prepared to head outside to examine Brother Green's bike as part of the safety lecture, the downpour returned and the Que Kidz Daze contingent remained inside. Read more about Que Kidz Daze on Gamma Pi's web site. Below are some video clips from Saturday:

Investing in Our Community's Health: Gamma Pi's Blood Drive and Health Fair

It was an interesting week leading up to Gamma Pi chapter's annual Blood Drive and Health Fair. The loss of two entertainment icons within hours of each other on the same day -- the incomparable music legend Michael Jackson and actress Farrah Fawcett -- underscored the importance of achieving and maintaining good health. Both were relatively young at 50 and 62. Those startling news headlines along with a growing sense of concern about personal health and well-being may have helped attract a large number of people from the surrounding community to Gamma Pi's Blood Drive and Health Fair today, held at the Kentland Community Center. A steady flow of people in and out the door kept staff hopping, from the teams who were manning various health screening stations to the American Red Cross crew receiving blood donations inside the mobile unit.

Imagine walking into a big department store (like Wal-Mart) and being able to go up and down the aisles and find everything you wanted. For example, up and down one long corridor, you could get screened for diabetes, bone density, glucose levels, cholesterol level and blood pressure. In another area, you could pick up useful information about health insurance, organ donation and nutrition.

Gamma Pi members and physicians Brothers Dr. Lester Miles and Dr. Kevin Ford organized today's event as one of the chapter's ongoing Social Action projects. Bro. Dr. Ford ran the successful event on-site.

While Gamma Pi works throughout the year with youth, families and seniors in the Prince George's community, the chapter is looking to increase its work in the area of health awareness and education, given the impact of health disparities on African Americans and other minority populations. You can learn more about health prevention and health disparities by visiting the National Institutes of Health.