3 minute read
A Place to Call Home
BY LAUREN FILIPPINI (ALPHA CHI, BUTLER UNIVERSITY), MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
It started with watching the news. In 1975, Judy Snyder (Gamma Mu, Ball State University) and her husband were watching coverage after the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell when they saw a message scrolling at the bottom of the screen letting viewers know there were ways to help those escaping the country.
“My husband just looked at me, and we were in complete agreement with one another about a need to help,” Judy recalls. Her husband called the number on the screen and they offered to take Vietnamese families into their home. When they finally received a call back months later, they were informed that there were some young, single men who needed a place to stay.
After prayer and discussion, the Snyders agreed, and with the help of their church, two men joined their home. As Judy says, “life was never the same after that moment.”
Since 1975, Judy (and her husband before he passed away) has provided a place to call home for countless men and boys from Vietnam. Judy says about a dozen of these boys were in true foster placements with her family, but often they had friends and family who joined them. Some boys stayed for a week, others for a year or more.
“It absolutely changed our whole lives,” Judy says. Before, she knew little about Vietnam, and the learning curve was steep in understanding the cultural differences. However, as a teacher, she was happy to learn and share about America too. Many of the boys have since completed college, gotten jobs and are living across the U.S. raising children of their own – and they stay in touch!
“They never forget me,” she says. “One guy just pops in the door and brings me roses sometimes. And the ones that live nearby, I’m very, very close to, and at the holidays, they come, and we have a giant dinner together.”
The relationships have even extended to her foster children’s children! When one of these young women moved to California, Judy drove with her across the country and stopped to visit her Alpha Chi Omega sisters!
Judy is very clear that the love she’s received from those she’s cared for is reward enough, but she hopes that she can inspire others to make a difference for others –whether it’s fostering or something else.
“There’s a tremendous need for helping others,” Judy says. “Look for opportunities to reach out, opportunities to help. It doesn’t have to look like the way we’ve helped others.”
Even today at age 85, Judy is still helping. Living with her now is a man from South Sudan and his two daughters. Judy is teaching the girls English, and they’re keeping her young! She says “yes” to opportunities to help, something she says came from the self-confidence she gained as an Alpha Chi Omega chapter president in college.
“What I wish for others is the rich, rich life that’s developed for me,” she says. “It’s been a beautiful life, a beautiful journey.”
