Shippensburg University’s student-athlete honors sorority Tau Kappa collaborated with Community Cares for a children’s Halloween craft on September 23. The family shelter, located on Burd Street in Shippensburg, welcomed the women of the sorority who joined together to engage with the children of the community.
The Community Cares shelter started in 2022 as a nonprofit space for homeless families and adults to sleep, eat, shower, make phone calls and receive mail. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cumberland County has one of the fastest growing populations in Pennsylvania, increasing the demand for shelter. Approximately 30 children live at the shelter and around 10 came to make crafts and enjoy snacks at the event.
The kids were able to make Halloween paper chains with materials and help provided by the sorority’s members.
“Seeing how grateful and happy the kids were for us to come in and make crafts with them was so heartwarming,” Tau Kappa President Maddy Tursi said. “Something that was special to me was one of the little girls I was making crafts with drew me a Halloween sign for my room, thanked me and then gave me a hug.”
Volunteer Coordinator Sherry Collins says the most rewarding part of working at the family shelter is “seeing the kids come in afraid and unsure, but as they are here longer, they get out of their comfort zones and create a community.”
“Let’s say you graduate college, and you don’t immediately get a job,” Collins said about the number of college-aged people in the shelter. “A lot of kids can go home. Some of these people have parents, that for whatever reason, they cannot go home, or do not have a home or anyone they can live with or fall back on at all. There are also a lot of people that couch surf or live in their cars or in tents, so homelessness is just a very layered issue.”
Programs like these are designed to provide help to communities that are less fortunate. “[The event] really represented Tau Kappa well because one of the initiatives of our sorority is to connect with the community and give back,” Tau Kappa Vice President Abbie Miller said. “This was one of our first events, so I am excited to see what we do this year with more community events.”
Community Cares accepts donations and volunteers at both their Shippensburg and Carlisle locations. For more information, visit morethanshelter.org.
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