From April 20 to 24, SUNY Oswego’s Greek organizations had the chance to participate in a friendly and non-competitive basic needs drive for the SHOP (Students Helping Oz Peers) pantries. 

Delta Sigma Phi took first place with a donation total of 172 points, followed by Alpha Epsilon Phi in second and Phi Lambda Phi in third. SHOP will honor Delta Sigma Phi for their generous donations with a certificate of appreciation. Over the course of the week, the campus community donated a total of 60.6 pounds of items.

The organizations received a tiered “point” list in the categories of food, toiletries/household items and clothes, with these items earning one to three points based on their priority of need. While points were a main factor, the final winning organization was chosen based on a mixture of their total points, quantity and quality of items, as well as the variety of items collected through donations. Seven Greek organizations participated in the friendly competition. 

Graduate Assistant for Basic Needs Operations Quinn Horan came up with the idea for this Greek life initiative and quickly began putting the plan into action; meeting with Director of Student Engagement and Leadership Vanessa Taylor and Fraternity and Sorority Life Coordinator Juliana Giudici to discuss the details. 

“The organizations were interested in earning their hours in the Standards of Excellence and we decided that this event would help fulfill their community service obligations. They asked for a priority list of items, how we could collaboratively promote the event, and we discussed how we would reward the winning organization,” Horan said. 

SHOP is SUNY Oswego’s pantry that provides basic needs items free of charge for students in need. Students in need of food, toiletries, and professional and winter clothing can visit SHOP for these resources in the basement of the Penfield Library or at the SUNY Oswego at Syracuse location.

During the academic year, SHOP’s weekly hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Fridays.

For further information, visit the SHOP website, or if you would like to donate to SHOP, please email at shop@oswego.edu. 

 --Written by graduate student Chloe Devendorf for the Office of the Dean of Students