Ruston, LA – May 5, 2015   For more than 65 years, Louisiana Tech University’s Kappa Delta sorority members have helped the children of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. From the days when LTU was Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, and the Home was the Louisiana Methodist Orphanage, the philanthropic efforts of KD members have made a positive impact on the lives of young children.

In researching the history between the two organizations, Rick Wheat, President and CEO of the children’s home, discovered a newspaper article from 1949 in which the Kappa Delta local chapter provided Christmas gifts to five children from the then orphanage. The Kappa Delta members went on to adopt one of the boys, Paul Higgins. Quoting an article from the sorority’s magazine, Angelos:

Kappa Delta’s at Polytechnic Institute in Ruston decided to adopt two-year-old Paul Higgins. As our third child to support at the Louisiana Methodist Orphanage here, it came   as a shock to all of us to learn that we would be buying him his first pair of shoes as well     as the first really nice clothes he had ever owned. “It’s the little things, such as this, that have made us become so attached to Paul during the four years we have been clothing him. In addition, we go to the orphanage as often as possible, to take Paul and a group of his friends riding or to the picture show. They just love the cowboy movies that are always shown here on Saturday afternoons. We wish everyone could see Paul.”

The Kappa Delta Shamrock 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run, which benefits the Methodist Children’s Home as well as Child Abuse Prevention was held in the latter part of March. An invitation from Madison Vige, on behalf of the KD chapter, for Rick Wheat to attend a recent meeting where he would be presented a check for the Home’s portion of the proceeds is what prompted Wheat’s search into the long-standing history between the two organizations.

On Sunday, April 26, 2015, a check for more than $16,000 was presented to Wheat for the children’s ministries at the Home. Wheat thanked the organizers of the event Megan Fream, Sarah Head, Chelsea Juarez, Bailey Thibodeaux and all of the members and participants for making the Shamrock Run a great success. He then shared with members his findings regarding their long history of supporting the home and expressed his appreciation for Kappa Delta’s commitment to the Children’s Home organization.