Fraternity brings Santa, holiday spirit to children

By Grant Miller

HO! HO! HO!

Santa Claus and some of his elves made a special appearance at the Phi Sigma Kappa house Thursday night as some area children received early Christmas gifts from the jolly old man.

The event was organized by the fraternity and the DeKalb Salvation Army to give 10 underprivileged kids and their parents a night with Santa Claus and gifts. The kids also received a pizza dinner, cookies and milk.

Fraternity President Rich Daniels said the fraternity has worked with the Salvation Army and Claus for many years. “Every year, the kids have a lot of fun getting their gifts and spending time with Santa.”

The fraternity received the children’s wish lists from the Salvation Army. The fraternity then collected donations from other fraternities and sororities and local establishments. The fraternity spends about $30 on every child.

“A lot of times we will get the kids some clothes they need and maybe some toys too,” said Philanthropy Chair Ron Brown. “This year we were really lucky because the parents of two of our members own a toy company.”

House members also decorated the house for the festive occasion. “We had about 10 guys working on this whole event,” Brown said.

The fraternity also recruited help from other fraternities and sororities to help on the project.

The fraternity picked the children and their families up and brought them to the house around 7 p.m. After dinner, Claus and his elves arrived to pass out presents and gifts to the children.

After the gifts were passed out, the children got to speak to Claus and play with their gifts. Milk and cookies were served before the children were taken home by fraternity members.