ISU sorority offering to egg your yard with Easter weekend fundraiser

POCATELLO — The Idaho State University chapter of the Tri Sigma Sorority has found an interesting way to fundraise while serving the Pocatello community and remaining COVID friendly.

There is not a single facet of life that has not been directly affected by the COVID pandemic, including the university experience.

ISU’s orientation was held online, and much of last semester’s welcome week was canceled completely, according to a trio of Tri Sigma sisters.

Greek life was hit hard as well. Although being in a fraternity or sorority has provided an outlet and much-needed connections, the houses themselves have struggled.

For the ISU chapter of Tri Sigma, fundraising has been difficult. There have been no concession stands at football games, and Tri-Hop, a fundraiser breakfast the house normally throws, is still clouded with uncertainty.

“It’s hard coming up with fundraisers,” said Tri Sigma Fundraising Chair Quincey Kirkpatrick. “In high school, I was fundraising chair and we did a lot of dances and stuff. We can’t do any of that. I have a lot of really fun ideas, but it’s just depending on what happens in our world.”

In its search for COVID friendly fundraisers, Kirkpatrick came up with “Egg My Yard.”

Instead of going through the rigamarole of getting eggs and either filling or decorating those eggs before waking up Easter morning to hide said eggs, Tri Sigma will do it all for you. And each order comes with a hand-written note from the Easter Bunny.

“I think it’s going to be really special,” Kirkpatrick told EastIdahoNews.com. “When (the children) wake up in the morning, and they see that there are eggs all over the yard and there’s a letter from the Easter Bunny, it’s just going to be really special.”

Considering larger families, Tri Sigma is offering three different sized ordering options. For $20, they will fill 25 plastic eggs with candy and hide them in your yard. For $40, you’ll get 50 eggs. And for $60, you’ll get 75. Payment is accepted through Venmo or cash, and can be set up at the time of ordering, which can be done through Facebook Messenger with Kirkpatrick.

Because many of the sisters will be in town for Easter helping with community services events the sorority has planned, they have the women-power to fill and deliver eggs without issue.

“It’s going to be an all-nighter type of thing,” Kirkpatrick said. “I’m pretty sure (the kids) are not going to see us. We’re going to work hard to make sure they don’t.”

Special needs have also been taken into account. Kirkpatrick said that when orders are entered she asks if there are any allergy concerns, and that information is put into a spreadsheet she created to track all orders. And, as is the case with just about everything being done in this country right now, COVID precautions are also being taken.

“When we deliver the eggs, and when we’re prepping the eggs and everything, we’re all going to have our masks on. All the candy is prepackaged,” she said. “As far as COVID goes, it’s pretty safe, as safe as it can be.”

COIVD, she said, has affected so much about her first year as a college student. And her sisters, Tori Carroll and Lacie Willet agree.

But the impact has been softened by the sisterhood they have developed through Greek life.

“It’s a place where we feel like we have a family, like a home away from home,” Carroll said.

This particular sisterhood offers more than just assistance to its own. Tri Sigma is heavily involved in philanthropic ventures throughout town. On Easter weekend, they will mix egg filling and delivering around cleanup the sorority has adopted. It is also involved with the March of Dimes, and runs the Sigma Serves Children, an initiative serving the health of children that works with March of Dimes.

“This is what Greek life is for me,” Willet added. “Even though we don’t have anything to compare it to, at least for me personally, I have gotten to experience a lot and I have gotten to know a lot of the girls. It’s super nice, because, being in the pandemic, it’s hard — you can’t go out, you can’t see people. It’s nice to have someone you can talk to, or go to for help with homework. It’s a sisterhood.”