The Greek community has been under fire in the past 9 months with controversy coming from fraternities and sororities across the country. While the media tends to emphasize the "bad things" that sometimes happen in the Greek system, they fail to provide people with information on all of the good things that come from the Greek community.
Compiled below are 5 stories spotlighting the positive philanthropic work of some members of the greek community, to let people know, that the stereotypes aren't always true about Greek members, and a lot of good does come from the work they do.
1. The first story comes from the Sigma Chi fraternity at George Washington University. One of the brothers, Jordan Dale and his fraternity set out to raise money for cancer research through their annual Derby Days philanthropy. This is a tradition of Sigma Chi but this past year it became more personal. Jordan's sister, Summer, passed away from bone cancer in 2012, and this year his brothers decided to go even bigger and better in their fundraising through their Derby Days fundraiser, which was a collection of events for the sororities on campus to compete in. The video of Jordan and Summer's story is emotional and inspiring to say the least, and the hard work that these boys put into their fundraiser really showed when they raised $84,000 for Cancer research.
2. The next story comes out from Alpha Sigma Phi at the University of Michigan. At the end of February, the men of Alpha Sig teamed up with 13 other fraternities and sororities on campus to host Winterfest, their annual broom ball tournament. They made their own 2,800 square foot ice rink in the backyard of Pi Kappa Alpha and created a bracket system matching the different houses up based off of how much money they raised. At the end of the day they surpassed their $20,000 fundraising goal and were able to raise $35,000 for the Autism Alliance of Michigan, which helps to improve the quality of life for people living with Autism.
3. Sigma Chi continues to kill it in the philanthropy game elsewhere. This year, the University of Texas chapter held their annual "Fight Night" event in which representatives from campus groups fight it out in an amateur boxing match. Over 20 groups sent representatives to compete, and the chapter got 2Chainz to perform for the crowd. In the end the boys raised $100,000 and donated it it all to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, the Andrew McDonough B+ foundation, and two local charities, with expectations of being even bigger and better next year.
4. Pi Kapp Phi at FSU set up a tent with two stationary bikes on campus and asked people to take shifts biking for 24 hours. They also set up a table with a pledge for people to take vowing to stop using the “R-Word." They had appearances from on-campus celebrities like athletes, and professors, and they have over 100 brothers cycling across the United States in their annual Journey of Hope bike tour across the country, which is expected to raise $500,000 of their philanthropy Push America (which helps people living with disabilities).
5. Western Kentucky University's IFC set up a fundraiser called "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," in which men can register for $25 and walk a mile around campus in red stilettos. The fundraiser raises awareness for sexual assault and raises money for the local rape crisis center. The boys do an awesome job of bringing awareness to such a serious topic in a lighthearted approachable way.
6. The Sigma Chi chapter at Purdue is doing an inspiration tribute to one of their brothers who passed away. In 2012 their brother, Xavier Somerville, passed away. After a long grieving process and some brainstorming, they came up with a way to honor him. A group of the brothers plan to drive around the country to 14 different college towns in an RV and ask people, “If you had one week to impact the rest of someone's life, what would you do?" That night they'll go home and decide who had the best response and work to make their idea a reality. If you want to donate or find more information, go online to thexavierproject2015.com.
As members of the Greek community, we no longer should aspire to be the “kids that party the hardest." We should instead aspire to be the kids who play hard and work harder; we need to work to improve our reputation of the letters we represent with pride. Especially being in the Greek system, we have great networking skills and lots of connections, and we should use them in positive ways.
