Last Wednesday at 4 p.m., Delta Zeta, a social sorority at Longwood, hosted the Delta Zeta Turtle Tug, a tug-of-war contest organized to benefit the Longwood Center for Communication, Literacy and Learning's (LCCLL) camps for children with impaired speech and hearing. Turtle tug-of-war teams, consisting of six players each, competed in the volleyball court on Stubbs Lawn. Every participant had to pay a $5 entry fee, and Longwood students were able to donate even if not participating in the event. There were 12 teams in total, six teams consisting of females and six teams consisting of males. The Men's Rugby turtle tug team won the male portion of the event, the team including Will Price, Alex Randall, T.J. Van Petten, Logan McNutt, Matt Marino, and Pat Parker. The turtle tug team, "Team Moneymaker," won the female portion of the event, the team including Lauren Gholson, Allie Marshall, Lauren Weddle, Allie Horton, Kara Lenhart, and Alex Moneymaker.
Relay for Life Turtle Tug chair of Delta Zeta, Nicole Ward, stated, "The goal of Delta Zeta was to raise as much money as we could for the Longwood Center for Communication Literacy and Learning." She shared that her goal for the event was to raise at least $500. "All in all, we raised about $750 for the center, but that number keeps growing as more donations are still coming in."
Money contributions weren't the only goal of Delta Zeta. Ward said, "My goal is just for people to learn about the center and keep doing charity events like this for them because they really need help."
Turtle Tug began in 2007, making this the fourth year Delta Zeta has hosted the event. Delta Zeta hosts other community service events around the campus throughout the year, including Meals on Wheels and Relay for Life. "Our philanthropy is speech and hearing, and [each event] helps children with speech therapy in the Farmville area," said Ward.
George Moore, sophomore, found out about the event through word of mouth. "I know some of the Delta Zetas, and they just invited me to this, and I thought it was a good cause. Any way to help them out," Moore said.
When asked if he would recommend others to participate in the event if it happens again, Moore answered, "I feel like everyone should do that. It's just a way to bring back to the community, bring back to the people. "
Jay Kennedy, one of the members of the Men's Rugby turtle tug team, reported that he and his team have participated in Delta Zeta's Turtle Tug event for many years now. "We've been here for a few years now. Last time we were here, we won it thanks to this strong man, T.J. Van Petten. He's one of our seniors, the veteran holding down the tug-of-war team."
An additional member of the Men's Rugby turtle tug team, Logan McNutt was co-captain of the team along with Petten. McNutt reported that this year was the first time he had ever attended Turtle Tug. He admitted that he attended the event "because of the prizes and [to] get to meet some [new] people."
Kennedy stated that, "We like to give back to the school. And we really like to win," proudly emphasizing on the "really."
McNutt said, "We are a team, and it's good to get your face out there on the school grounds."Delta Zeta's Turtle Tug was a great way to have fun by benefiting the community or by laughing at your friend's muddy suffering when he or she is pulled into the middle of the volleyball court where resided a water-filled pit of muddy, frothy gook. Just point and laugh, but don't forget to contribute to the basis of the event, the Longwood Center for Communication, Literacy and Learning.
A few of the camps benefited by the event include Constructing Real Writing Camp (CREW) and ``1Language Enrichment Games and Opportunities Camp (LEGO). According to the LCCLL online website, these and other clubs organized benefit children by offering environments to provide a closer focus on reading skills, writing skills, language enrichment, and more. These and other camps held by LCCLL occur during the months of June and July of 2012. For more information visit the Longwood Center for Communication, Literacy and Learning's website at www.longwood.edu/lccll.
