Experience Hope Serving: Apply for April 2025

Experience Hope Serving: Apply for April 2025

We are so excited to bring Hope Serving to the Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments from April 24-27, 2025! Participants will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for a long weekend of hands-on service at DGCKids. Founded in 1951, DGCKids began with a group of passionate Delta Gamma alumnae who were committed to supporting children with visual impairments. What started as a grassroots effort has since grown into a thriving non-profit organization dedicated to empowering children and their families through specialized services, advocacy and community support. 

Hope Serving is a service-learning experience that offers Delta Gammas the opportunity to develop as leaders on a local, regional and international level and encourages learning and critical thinking through hands-on service, community involvement, and civic and social justice education.

Applicant Requirements

The Hope Serving program is open to all initiated Delta Gammas in good standing. Both alumnae and collegians are encouraged to apply. Apply by March 19, 2025. Late applications may not be accepted. 

Participant selection criteria are:

• Initiated Delta Gamma member in good standing. For collegians, this means good standing in your chapter. For alumnae, this means paying per-capita dues for the fiscal year.
• Motivation to serve, though it is not necessary to have previous service experience.
• Physically able and willing to complete the service work needed by the service site.

Please note that you may be required to have a valid passport, complete a background check and/or fill out additional paperwork.

Selection and Participation Process

1. Completed applications are due March 19, 2025. Late applications may not be accepted.
2. The Hope Serving staff committee will review and evaluate all Hope Serving applications.
3. Participants for the Hope Serving team will be selected and notified by March 24.
4. Additional details regarding transportation, logistics and attire will be shared upon selection.
5. Participants must participate in three pre-trip orientation virtual meetings. These meetings will be held in the weeks prior to the trip and will be scheduled based on the selected participants’ schedules. If you miss any meeting, we reserve the right to replace your spot with another applicant. 
6. Participants must attend the entire length of the program.
7. We ask that all participants complete the following post-trip requirements:
   • Complete a post-trip assessment.
   • Serve as a Hope Serving Ambassador to promote the program to other Delta Gamma members.
   • Continue service work with a local Service for Sight organization.
   • Write testimonials of their experience for both marketing and personal reflection purposes.

Program Considerations/Participant Expectations

We hold high expectations for participants and ask them to have high expectations for themselves. If selected, you will be part of a group of Delta Gammas who will have the opportunity to participate in a remarkable service experience. Applicants should consider the following when applying:

1. While rewarding, you may experience situations that are unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable for you. You will work hard and be challenged.
2. The Hope Serving program puts service at the forefront of everything we do. This is not a vacation. Facilities can be less than what you are used to at home, with limited access to private bathrooms. Lodging will be provided for the duration of the program.
3. Service activities may involve an element of risk.
4. Delta Gamma will provide a team leader for the trip; however, participants are empowered to make wise decisions regarding their own safety and the safety of others.
5. Pre-trip meeting attendance is mandatory, and absences will not be accepted. Many more Delta Gammas will apply for this program than we are able to accommodate, and it is expected that you will fully participate in all components of the Hope Serving program, including virtual meetings and trainings. If you miss any virtual meeting, we reserve the right to replace your spot with another applicant. Once participants are selected, the pre- and post-trip meetings will be scheduled.
6. Hope Serving is an alcohol- and drug-free program for all participants (regardless of age). Once selected, participants will sign a substance-free policy statement. Failure to follow the substance-free policies of the trip may result in the participant being asked to leave the trip at her own expense.
7. Your actions on this trip will not only reflect on you, but also the team, your chapter, Delta Gamma Fraternity and Delta Gamma Foundation.

Hope Serving Ambassadors

As a result of the Hope Serving experience, each participant will be able to:

• Describe and emulate the Service for Sight mission
• Engage in lifelong service endeavors
• Create a collumnae relationship
• Convey a rich understanding of the population served, and how this understanding parallels their sisterhood experience 
• Assess how Service for Sight impacts them as an individual
• Develop and articulate a deeper understanding of themselves 

Do Good Hour Credit

All participants will receive 25 Do Good Service for Sight hours for completing the program.

Costs

The cost of the program, including travel, will be covered by Delta Gamma Fraternity and Delta Gamma Foundation. Any airfare and lodging will be paid for directly by Delta Gamma. Other items such as baggage fees, meals while traveling, etc. may be required to be paid for upfront by participants and subsequently reimbursed by Delta Gamma. Participants will be responsible for securing their own medical insurance coverage. Participants will also be responsible for any additional costs and expenses not covered by the program (including but not limited to snacks not covered by the Hope Serving program, social outings/gatherings, gifts, clothes, lost luggage, etc.).

Fees will be assessed if a participant resigns from the experience. See Cancellation Fee section below for additional details.

Cancellation Fee

Due to limited space and funding, should a participant cancel after accepting a spot the cost of the trip, approximately $1,800, will be assessed back to the participant. The cause of cancellation shall be considered in determining the need for assessment. No replacements will be permitted.

Travel and Event Policy

See the Travel and Event Policy for more information regarding attendance, transportation and cancellations. The Travel and Event Policy applies to this event.

Health and Safety

Hope Serving participants are expected to adhere to all state, local and service site health and safety guidelines. This may include wearing a mask while at the service site, providing proof of COVID-19 vaccination and/or providing proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to the trip. Further details will be provided during the interview process.

Questions?

Please contact Learning and Engagement Specialist Dylan Rowell at dylan.rowell@deltagamma.org.