To help its community, the Joliet Area/South Suburban Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority is performing “acts of kindness.”
On Saturday, the sorority will join forces to host its fourth annual KISS 100 Acts of Kindness Health and Wellness Fair. KISS stands for kindness in service through sisterhood.
Events begin at 7:30 a.m. with a 5K run from Dining on the Green, 349 Main St., Park Forest, to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The run is hosted by Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Former NBA player and author Craig Hodges will host a 3-point shootout, which costs $10, for all ages. Registration for the shootout will be on site. Funds raised will be donated to Park Forest police Officer Tim Jones, who was shot while on duty in 2016.
The fair, at Dining on the Green from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., will kick off with a pep rally at 9 a.m. hosted by WPWX-FM 92.3 radio host Shagg Nice.
After the rally, eight teams will perform 100 acts of kindness throughout the Southland.
For example, they will be giving gift baskets to city of Harvey firefighters, according to Virgie Bullie, president of the foundation. In the past, they have fed children in lower income communities, and visited nursing homes, she said. They also plan to help with Special Olympics.
The teams will be in 22 communities in honor of the 22 founding members of the sorority, said Kimberly Rowe-Barney, chapter president. They will “bring a little bit of sunshine,” such as coffee and doughnuts to various fire and police departments.
Sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the health and wellness fair will include cooking demonstrations from celebrity chef and Food Network alum Judson Todd Allen. There also will be a farmers market, as well as blood pressure and glucose screenings. Spin cycle and boot camp classes will be offered. Entertainment will be provided by award-winning gospel group New Direction, which performed backup to Jennifer Hudson on episodes of “Empire.”
The KISS events started in 2013, in the centennial year of the sorority, according to Tracey Payne, a co-chair for the event. At the time, she told her sorority sisters “we count murders, how about we count (acts of kindness) and not murders?” she said.
“If we do acts of kindness, would anybody count that?” Payne said.
The sorority had been organizing acts of kindness the past three years among its 420 members, Payne said. This year, the group decided to open the event to the public and joined with partners the Jassac Charitable Foundation, the Joliet Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Hodges and the village of Park Forest to “kiss the south suburban” area with kindness, according to an event release.
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.