“True religion is about serving others.”
These were the words of Aaron Parrott, Delta President and senior biochemistry major regarding Delta’s latest exercise in loving their neighbor. On Saturday, Feb. 20, while most Oklahoma Christian students were hiding from the winter weather, the men of Delta Gamma Sigma were out serving the Oklahoma City community. They raised funds to supply those who are homeless with food and other necessary supplies. Tavian Johnson, senior communication design major and the student behind this service act, said it was being trapped inside that reminded him of those who were trapped outside.
“I knew people outside had to deal with much worse obstacles than I did,” T. Johnson said. “I still have blankets and a roof over my head. I couldn’t really wrap my head around how you would deal with this weather outside.”
T. Johnson felt compelled to act after Sen. Ted Cruz’s response to Texas citizens during their time of need.
“I thought it was ridiculous that we have powerful leaders and influencers only giving out thoughts and prayers; we have government officials not doing their job,” T. Johnson said. “I let people know what I was doing and if they wanted to help out, great. If not, I would do as much as I could because that’s what real leadership is. It’s going out on the front lines and helping the people in your community.”
T. Johnson voiced his idea in Delta’s group-chat, where he was met with a positive response. Elijah Johnson, a sophomore journalism major and Delta member, saw T. Johnson’s message and immediately wanted to help.
“Tavian messaged the group-chat,” E. Johnson said. “I read it and hit him up immediately. We then had a discussion as to whether it should be public or not. We decided we should make it public to gather more resources and things just blew up from there.”
Within 24 hours, they received $435 over CashApp from Delta members, alumni, Oklahoma Christian students and others. With these donations, Delta raised enough to purchase supplies for 250 meals and as many warm clothes as they could. T. Johnson donated some of his own clothes to the cause, and E. Johnson helped cover the cost of supplies when they went over budget.
“Everybody sacrificed something to be there and help out,” E. Johnson said. “Everybody had something to do but we chose to put being helpful above ourselves.”
Parrot assisted in raising funds for this endeavor and was impressed with the generosity of those who donated.
“It is uplifting to see people be willing to band together and give money and willing to be helpful,” Parrott said. “It is encouraging to see networking being used positively. It’s neat to use distant connections to pool together and do good.”
After spending all day gathering supplies and assembling sandwiches and care packages, a small group of Delta members and alumni headed out to distribute supplies. After driving around for several minutes, they discovered a large group of individuals needing supplies and handed everything out within an hour.
“We aimed for areas under bridges and we eventually ended up finding a tent city,” E. Johnson said. “Once we found that we gave everything out in about 30 minutes.”
T. Johnson labeled it an “impactful experience,” saying it taught him to be grateful for what he has. Parrott said the act of service was a testament to the Christian community’s ability to come together and serve others.
“This act of service speaks to what is truly important,” Parrott said. Often it seems like we can focus on the tiny plants and think it’s the forest, such as intramurals or Spring Sing. I’ve really enjoyed my time with Spring Sing as a director and participant, but sometimes I think it’s important to reprioritize and focus on what matters right now, such as what others need and what statement are we making as a club or a group of people.”
Additional funds will be donated to those in Texas, who were hit especially hard by this winter’s weather. The link to that GoFundMe page can be found here.
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