ST. PETERSBURG — The St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. held their 33rd Annual Breakfast with Santa Community Outreach event at the St. Pete campus of Pinellas Technical College (PTC). This extraordinary community building and family-oriented event was designed to give needy families a great start to the holiday season.
Boe Norwood, director of PTC, volunteered the college’s culinary class, which whipped up a savory and delicious breakfast that included bacon, eggs, grits, mini-bagels with cream cheese and more.
Many children and families receiving assistance through local agencies, as well as families throughout the St. Petersburg community, partook in the warm and inviting breakfast with Santa.
The sisters reached out to churches and daycares to find deserving families. Through their heavily advertising campaign, the Deltas were able to treat over 360 guests to an early Christmas.
The jubilee had outgrown previous locations, one of which was the Pinellas County Job Corps facility. This year the Deltas were prepared to entertain on a grand scale, and they did just that.
The sisters pulled out all the stops this year. The halls were decked with five Christmas trees, a large stocking, baubles and garland galore. “It was very Christmassy and we’re appreciative to PTC for making our day so memorable,” said co-chair of the event soror Gloria Flakes.
Activities, entertainment and music saturated the wintry celebration. The holiday festivities included games for children ages two through 12, face and nail painting, a chess setup, lawn darts, bean bag toss, bike raffle, Christmas gift shop, free popcorn and more. The pictures with Santa were a huge success; both Santa and Mrs. Claus were in attendance.
The presents, as well as the raffled bicycles, were donated by the alumnae chapter. One by one, the children selected the gifts placed under the tree; their eyes reflected an almost magical quality. “They got to choose whatever they wanted,” Flakes said of the children, all of whom were on the “nice” list.
Joyful tunes, fun and fanfare filled every crevice of the room as the DJ spun his music, creating a sense of goodwill toward all within earshot. Praise groups, a saxophonist, dance groups and solo acts were all on hand to entertain the crowd. The acts and artists lavishly doted over the children, skillfully taking turns wielding their expertise to create new memories for each child.
For over 50 years, the St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has been active in the community raising awareness, encouraging academic excellence and supporting economic development. They are committed to empowering the youth of St. Pete by offering academic scholarships to those who are college bound and exhibit strong leadership skills.
The Pinellas County School Board’s scholarship program uses the sorority as a mechanism to distribute funds to the deserving high school students who meet their qualifications and exhibit potential and aptitude.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. currently has 1,000 collegiate and alumnae chapters located in the United States, England, Japan (Tokyo and Okinawa), Germany, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Republic of Korea.
