Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Osazuwa Okundaye [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Doug Klembara A student paints a building as a volunteer for Big Event. Texas A&M University fraternities and sororities participate in Big Event to help the community. [Click to enlarge]

The Greek community raises more than a million dollars annually for charities and fundraisers with causes ranging from the Make a Wish Foundation to battered women shelters.

The Greeks donate 350,000 hours of charity work to local communities, each organization raising $10,000 to $20,000 a year.

Texas A&M has 56 fraternities and sororities whose members make up 10 percent of the student population. Whether it is a 5K run for the cure of muscular dystrophy, a blood drive or a mission trip to a local community affected by disaster, hundreds of fundraisers are put on every year for the community and surrounding areas by Greek life.

Nick Zuniga, the coordinator of marketing and outreach for Greek life, said the sororities and fraternities at A&M have academic, service and social components. The service component is one of the largest parts of Greek life.

"Overall, service plays a big part in this day and age. Many of the students have been doing service work since they were children," said Zuniga. "It's inspirational to see the students working so hard to help."

Zuniga said that although Big Event might not be the most well-known event of the year for every fraternity and sorority, it is special because it is the only event where all of the Greeks get together for one charity to help the community.

Zuniga said one of the reasons the Greek community is able to do so much charity work is that it is able to organize large groups of people.

Aggie Fiji, the Aggie chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, does a charity event every year similar to the Make a Wish Foundation called "Chairs of Spirit." They give 50 terminally ill children from hospitals in Houston and Waco an opportunity to attend an Aggie football game and an Aggie baseball game.

The patients and their families are given sideline seats to a football game and a tailgate. Yell leaders visit the tailgate to give them their own yell practice. They play football with all the active members and they are allowed in the locker room to receive autographs from players and coaches.

Brock Robertson, president of Phi Gamma Delta, said the most rewarding part is seeing the positive impact on the children's and families' lives.

"Just going to hospital to see faces and smiles is so rewarding," said Robertson, a junior finance major. "Greek life isn't just all about partying and social events; we really do give back and we have the manpower to do so."

This semester they will take the children to the Aggie baseball game against Oklahoma State on April 25 where they will participate in the pre-game warm up, as well as activities that are seen at the football games.

Robertson said he loves to show the Aggie Spirit to people who do not get to see it often.

"It is a way to represent A&M as a place that gives back," he said. "It is a heart warming feeling to see what we are doing for these kids. It also encourages people to give back in their own way; charity is not just about raising a lot of money."

Kelly Kay Clark, president of Collegiate Panhellenic council and junior environmental studies major, said the Alpha Delta Pi sorority donates their time to the Ronald McDonald house, making a point to meet the people whose lives they have impacted.

"I don't think people realize how much it means to the women involved in the philanthropies," said Clark. "A lot join a chapter because of philanthropies and what they support. We support various things: causes for blindness, deafness and abused women and children. Not everyone realizes how much we support and how much they appreciate our help."

With the economy, Zuniga said some fraternities and sororities have seen a 10 percent decrease in financial donations, and only time will tell what the next year will bring.

Zuniga said they are changing direction to become more service oriented, such as asking for clothes or canned donations instead of raising money.

"We're not going to ask for money from people who don't have it," he said. "We work with other organizations like blood drives and Big Brothers and Sisters. We are always available to take money for donations, but are leaving it mostly up to the larger non-profit organizations."

Over spring break, Greek life organized its first mission trip to Galveston, where members helped build shelters and showers and repair damage left by Hurricane Ike for the Central United Methodist Church.

"[Greek Life was] able to give up time and help build shelters and work on this church," said Zuniga. "They gave a lot of time and effort. They went five days without showering, without great glorious meals and fun spring break trips."

Zuniga stresses that the reason students come to A&M is to be an Aggie, and that Greek life is not everything to them. Many of the students join Greek life so they can make an impact on the local community and the University.

"These students want to make an impact on their University, much greater than what their group is doing," he said. "They might be here for only four years, but their organization will survive them, and we encourage them make a local impact. There are organizations and companies in the community that have been around a long time need their help. We have been very successful with this."

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