By ISABELLA PIERCE/Talon Contributor
Delight won unlimited free curriculum books for its upcoming semester. Delight is a women’s college ministry at UT Tyler.
The group meets every Thursday in the College of Business. It has fellowship, worship and small-group discussions about lesson from the book that week. Delight has many chapters in colleges in the United States.
UT Tyler’s chapter started in 2019 and has almost tripled in size since then, which led to its win this semester.
Every year on Giving Tuesday, Delight holds a competition to determine which school can raise the most money for the organization. It receives almost all of its funding through donations.
Delight tallies up how many $10 donations it receives on Venmo and has donors write which school they are donating to. The schools then compete to win free unlimited books for their campus.
Many huge schools have Delight chapters such as Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor University and Purdue University. Out of all the schools, UT Tyler won and received unlimited free books this semester. The members of Delight were not expecting to win because UT Tyler is smaller than the 140 other schools that have chapters.
Brooke Florey has been the team director of Delight for two years. She coordinates with Delight headquarters and student engagement aspect at UT Tyler.
SEEKING DONATIONS
“They posted the morning that it was going to close and said here are our top 10 schools and UT Tyler was in the top 10, so then we started trying really hard,” Florey said.
Once the members knew they had a chance to win, they started sending messages and asking more people to donate. They took dares on social media such as jumping into a freezing lake to get donations.
“We were excited because it was so unexpected; we didn’t think we were going to get it at all,” Florey said.
She said she hopes that winning the books will get more women to come to Delight, since there will not be any expenses.
Unlike sororities, Delight does not have fees other than its optional merch and books, which usually cost $15. This aspect draws some girls in because they do not have to pay and only attend a meeting once a week.
Mia Mahan, a freshman, began attending Delight during her first semester. She will become a leader this semester.
BUILDING CONNECTIONS
“I built a lot of good connections through it, and I got a really good community. I think it’s a really great opportunity for girls to connect with other girls on campus who are like-minded,”
Mia Mahan
Over 70 girls attended the Delight kickoff meeting this past September and again this January. Kickoff took place on Jan. 19 and half the free books were given out.
Delight is not limited to just UT Tyler students. Women who attend Tyler Junior College or are college-aged are welcome at the College of Business, Room 112, on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. to receive a free Bible study book.
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