Impacting Literacy in Tallahassee
This article was written in conjunction to the Fall 2019 Magazine. Click here to view other chapters articles.
Writer: Hannah A. / Photographer, Graphic: Savannah T.
Pi Beta Phi’s philanthropic goal is to create a more literate, productive society by aiding those young and old who struggle with reading. The Beta Chapter of Pi Beta Phi at Florida State University works hard to ensure that they do as much as they can to improve literacy in the Tallahassee community. Chapter women frequently visit Springwood Elementary School to read to kindergarteners, but this year, Pi Phi wanted to take their efforts further. A small group of chapter women recently began visiting the Hope Community Center, a homeless residential center in Tallahassee, to read, play, and interact with the children.
Sara M., a third-year student at Florida State, brought this idea to her chapter after she began volunteering at the Hope Community Center through the Bedtimes Stories program. Sara is a Communication Science and Disorders major and is involved in the National Student Speech Language, Audiology and Hearing Association (NSSLAH). Her involvement in NSSLAH led her to participate in Bedtime Stories. At the time, Bedtime Stories was a generally small organization and had the potential to grow through a collaboration with the sisters of Pi Phi. Sara took the initiative to contact the head of the organization and ensure that her sisters would be able to participate in this eye-opening experience. This collaboration was an amazing opportunity that brought together two university organizations, allowing them to work towards one common goal: improving the lives and education of the less fortunate.
During these visits, the chapter women are able to read to a large age range of kids. Many of the younger children prefer to play with the sisters, and as Sydney C. explains, “We should always be reading to them, but we usually feel out the situation. Sometimes the kids just want to play – and that’s okay. Just being with them and seeing them smile is worth it”. The experience really opened the women’s eyes to the adversity these children and families face. Claire M. shared her experience, recounting that, “The fact that we get to sit with them for an hour and make them smile is amazing, but to see what life is like for them really hit me hard. It makes you take a step back and be grateful.”
Though this was the first year the chapter volunteered at the center, the sisters hope to continue growing this initiative, eventually allowing each sister to see the importance of literacy first-hand. The women believe that as the involvement with the Hope Community Center grows, so will their sisterhood. Those who have volunteered believe that their eyes have been opened. “Everyone experiences it through a different lens or perspective, and it’s amazing to see how it affects everyone differently,” says Sara M.
What once started as a sister with an idea has grown into an up-and-coming movement within a Panhellenic chapter. This admirable feat is a testament of the love, support, and dedication sisters have to each other and the philanthropies they cherish so dearly.