Sorority's event highlights help available to community

Jun. 19—As music blared from a speaker, a growing circle of white-and-red-clad dancers began to form.

They were dressed in the colors of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority dedicated to providing community help and support through more than 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters around the world.

The sorority's Frederick Alumnae Chapter organized a Community Day in Frederick's Staley Park Saturday to give people a chance to have fun, but also to learn about the services and organizations that are available in the community to help them when they need it, said Olivia White, project coordinator for the Frederick chapter.

There was a focus on health and wellness, with HIV testing and gift cards for the first 75 people who got COVID-19 vaccinations, she said.

But there was also a food distribution area and a place for people to bring documents to be shredded.

Organizers also collected socks to be donated to the Frederick Rescue Mission.

The Rescue Mission brought 100 bags of food to be given away to help families deal with rising food costs, the Mission's Valerie Moore said.

Although "not nearly enough" had been distributed, what wasn't given away Saturday would be taken to other events, she said.

With the Juneteenth holiday, which celebrates the official end of slavery in the United States, on June 19, Saturday's event was their way of recognizing "the exhilaration of people being liberated," said Mary Wright, chair of the DST chapter's social action committee.

But it's also a way to help people escape from whatever is still enslaving them, whether physical or mental health issues, economic issues, or other problems, by letting them know what kinds of help are available, she said.

At one table, Shirlene Roberts of Whole Heart Grief and Life Resource Center chatted with people and gave them information on the organization.

They help people deal with various types of grief, whether from the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, or other reasons, she said.

The Frederick-based organization tries to help walk people through their pain and change it into healing, so that they can help others, Roberts said.

The idea for Saturday's event originated as several members of the alumnae chapter canvassed in neighborhoods of the city ahead of the local elections in the fall of 2021, Wright said.

They heard from several people that they were not interested in voting because their preferred candidate had not made it out of the primary, she said.

Saturday's event featured an area for candidates in this fall's elections, with a wide variety of state, county, and local legislative candidates represented in person, with signs, or tables with campaign volunteers.

They thought an event like Saturday's would be a good chance to educate people about the candidates ahead of this fall's elections, and about the importance of voting locally, Wright said.

With the upcoming elections, the need to get information out to the community and providers anxious to reach people about their services as the COVID pandemic continues, Saturday's event felt like "something we were destined to do," Wright said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP