Halloween spirit comes to Manor

By Michelle Isaacson

Sigma Kappa sorority and Kappa Sigma fraternity will bring the spirit of Halloween to Barb City Manor residents on Tuesday night.

Joani Philpott, Sigma Kappa philanthropy chairman, said sorority and fraternity members will dress up and bring candy to the residents. “It’s like a mock trick-or-treating, but we’re taking it to them,” she said.

Sasha Morrow, a receptionist for Barb City Manor, 680 Haish Blvd., said the retirement home is similar to “a dorm for older people.”

“We’ve been working with them (Barb City Manor) for at least the past nine or ten years,” Philpott said.

Philpott said the sorority contacted Kappa Sigma and invited them to participate in the event. “We just thought we’d include a fraternity to get more participation,” she said.

The event is a way “to enlighten a lot of older people. We can help out some of the older folks,” said Kappa Sigma Treasurer Todd Warda.

Raising funds for and comforting those with Alzheimer’s Disease is the sorority’s national philanthropy. Gerontology, the study of aging and the problems of the aged, was always an interest of the sorority, Philpott said.

When Francis Warren Baker, a famous Sigma Kappa, died from Alzheimer’s Disease, the sorority chose to focus its philanthropy on helping to combat that illness, she said.

The sorority also is holding a nationwide Collegiate Lollipop Campaign by selling lollipops during November to raise money for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Philpott said Sigma Kappa chapters nationwide have given nine research grants totaling $60,000 to the National Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association.