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Pledging
APO is both a significant commitment of time and energy,
and an incredibly rewarding experience. Aside from
fulfilling the requirements of Midweeks, Saturday Projects,
and meetings, the pledge class is also expected to organize,
develop, fundraise for, and lead an all-day service project
involving up to a hundred people. |
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Recent
pledge projects have significantly improved the facilities
of Gallastar Equine Center, Cedars
Nursing Home, Albemarle
Housing Improvement Program, Virginia
Institute of Autism,
and Camp Holiday Trails through building sheds, painting
rooms, adding benches/doors, building garden structures,
creating campfire areas, etc. The
pledge project can be the most stressful part of the semester,
but the most rewarding as well. To see the efforts
of two months of work come to fruition on a Saturday is incredible. |
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The
pledge semester is an incredibly fun time. Pledges
are put into families with Big Brothers, who serve as guides
and familiar faces through the pledge semester and beyond. Families
typically have plans about once a week, ranging from a
standard dinner and a movie night to events a little more
thrilling, like sky diving.
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Each
pledge class develops into a close unit through the experiences
shared during fundraising and planning for the pledge project
that spills over into the social realm: pledge classes
get together to have slumber parties, roadtrips, dinners
- sometimes long after their pledge semester as well. In
the end, pledging serves to introduce new members to both the
social and service aspects of Theta Chapter. |
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