The women of the Gamma Phi Beta are not only living up to their values, they are acting on them. The sorority sisters volunteer at Heartspring, an organization that cares for special needs children and their families.

Gamma Phi Beta’s core values are “Love, Labor, Learning and Loyalty.” Many Gamma Phi Beta alumni volunteer for Heartspring, too.

“So many of our girls are just so passionate about it,” said senior Lenae Cupps, president of Gamma Phi Beta.

Heartspring gave Cupps real-world experience by caring for a child with Autism.

“Her name is Emily, and I met her while she was still in the hospital,” Cupps said. “She was actually born a month early, and two weeks after she came home, I started caring for her five days a week. I’ve watched her grow up, and I have Heartspring to thank for that.”

Children like Emily are what drove Heartspring to create three unique programs that serve families from all over the world.

The first is a residential school to give children with severe Autism a safe environment to live and grow.

The second is an outpatient clinic that offers local kids a range of health services, from counseling, to speech and physical therapy.

The third is the CARE program, which sends a special consultant out in the community to teach others how to patiently help children with Autism.

“There are only a small handful of people who do what we do at the caliber that we do it,” said Dusty Buell, director of marketing for Heartspring.

Gamma Phi Beta is constantly raising money and spreading awareness, most recently with a Grilled Cheese fundraiser that raised over $5,200 for the CARE program.

“It was really special. We had a lot of support from the community and from the other Greek organizations,” said junior Ashley Bandasack, sorority financial vice president.

That sense of community seems to be important to Heartspring, Gamma Phi Beta and anyone else who works with children affected by Autism.

“We do everything we can for the child — whether it’s a local child, someone from across the nation or across the world — to get them the help that they need,” Buell said. “It’s helping those who need it most.”