By Marisa Young | Reporter
As they prepare for their annual philanthropic mission trip, members of Kappa Kappa Gamma are considering expanding their outreach opportunity to include Baylor students outside of the chapter.
Houston senior Katelyn Treadwell served as the former leader of the Kappa Kappa Guatemala 2024 trip. She has now been a part of the mission trip a total of three times, and describes her experience this last year as “one of the best trips ever.”
Treadwell grew up serving alongside a ministry called Women for Orphans Worldwide, and said she would like to see her chapter expand to partner with ministries such as this in the future.
“From a leadership standpoint, I’d love to have Baylor Missions use that organization,” Treadwell said. “Orphan outreach is a really big part of my life, and it would be cool to see Baylor girls travel with [KKG].”
Treadwell’s experiences participating in the trip have given her a new perspective that she carries with her daily.
“Those experiences … just put my life in perspective,” Treadwell said. “These people have so much joy from such small things. Here in the U.S. we’re so blessed, but it means that we always want more.”
On the 2022 domestic trip Kappa partnered with an organization called One More Child. According to Treadwell, One More Child helps single mothers get back on their feet by providing a childcare VBS as well as food packs. The members of the Kappa trip served by helping pack bags with about a month’s worth of food as well as caring for the kids.
“While the moms are waiting for their food to be packed we have an activity with them,” Treadwell said. “The year before last we painted their nails and gave them massages because it was right around Mother’s Day.”
Treadwell also experienced fulfillment in the bond that she created with her Greek sisters on the trip.
“One thing that really impacted me was the girls that I went with … we all got really close and they just have true hearts for the Lord –– and it’s contagious. I’m so glad I found more girls like that in Kappa,” Treadwell said.
Treadwell said that she hopes the doors of the mission trip will be opened soon to other Baylor women, not just those in the chapter. The experiences she took away from her time serving are ones that she would like to share with others.
Houston senior and Kappa member Emily Skeeter agreed that expanding the trip to involve unaffiliated students could further the trip’s impact.
“I think it’s a great idea because it gets other organizations involved and not just Kappa,” Skeeter said.
Skeeter said that while the logistics of including other students in the trip would be “hard to navigate,” she would like to see other groups being able to pour into the philanthropy’s efforts.
“Opening it up to other organizations, either going on the trip or donating, is such a good way to keep the conversation going,” Skeeter said.
Treadwell reflected on the spiritual impact of the trip and hopes for other students to be able to experience that.
“I felt like God was so present throughout the entire trip … in the smallest things, like getting to tell a little girl in Spanish that Jesus loves her,” Treadwell said. “I’ll never forget it.”
