Bee Tea to benefit hospice

GUMBO STAFF REPORT

Looking for a fun “mother/daughter” outing? Consider the Big & Little Queen Bee Tea Nov. 18 in Houma.

The Beta Sigma Phi Louisiana Alpha Chapter is hosting the affair to benefit the Bayou Region Hospice.

Females young and old – mothers, grandmothers, daughters, aunts and the like – dressed in their Sunday best, will spend the afternoon sipping tea at the Harold J. Trahan Jr. Memorial Gym (also known as the Bayou Black recreational center). The Bee Tea is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person.

Chapter President Susan Waldron said the afternoon will include mother/daughter-type games designed to test how well each one knows the other. “We’re still deciding what other games and door prizes we’ll have,” she said, noting that it should be fun for everyone.

The sorority is also planning to hold a silent auction. And a photographer will be on hand selling various photo packages to commemorate the occasion.

Proceeds from the tea will go to the Bayou Region Hospice, the area’s only non-profit hospice organization. It was chosen at one of the Alpha Chapter member’s request.

Unlike other sororities, Beta Sigma Phi’s Alpha Chapter is founded in friendship. “Its focus is personal growth,” Waldron said. “It’s what I like to call a ‘pay it forward’ organization.”

The group’s core foundation is life, learning and friendship, she explained. There are four local Beta Sigma Phi chapters, of which the Louisiana Alpha Chapter is the newest. It was founded in March 2007.

To join Beta Sigma Phi, applicants must first be invited by a member, Waldron said. “Anyone interested just has to let us know,” she added. The organization “rushes” twice yearly.

For more information on the Bee Tea or Beta Sigma Phi Louisiana Alpha Chapter, contact Waldron at (985) 466-1441 or e-mail BSPAlpha@gmail.com. The sorority is also featured at www.myspace/bspalpha.