Each spring, Bethel Fife and Drum presents the DAR ROTC Gold Medal and Certificate to a graduating cadet from the University of Pittsburgh at the school’s ROTC awards ceremony.  This medal is given to a student who has demonstrated qualities of dependability and good character, adherence to military discipline, leadership ability, and a fundamental and patriotic understanding of the importance of ROTC training.

We collect labels and box tops for Kate Duncan Smith DAR School to help pay for computers and other educational supplies.  Click here for more information about DAR Schools

Periodically, the chapter sponsors area students for various Pennsylvania and NSDAR scholarships.  Please contact Regent Ann Harder for information on scholarships and application procedures.

In conjunction with this DAR educational contest, the chapter sponsors students from the seventh grade classes at Peters Township Middle School.  (Other schools may be added in the future.)  The students can enter seven categories–poster, stamp, poetry, short story, banner, photographic essay, and community service project–based on a yearly theme.  In eight of the nine years our JAC committee has been working with Peters Township Middle School, a total of sixteen students sponsored by the chapter have received first place, second place, or honorable mention at the national level.

The chapter sponsors a New Citizen’s Recognition (naturalization) ceremony in Pittsburgh on the third Friday in June.  We give the official welcome to the new citizens after they take their oath of citizenship, and we present each of them with an American flag to commemorate the occasion.

The Service to Veterans Committee organizes visits to veterans at the Veterans Hospital in Aspinwall, and chapter members donate shawls, lap robes, games, and personal care items for the veterans there.