A big part of Greek life here at the University of Maine is philanthropic efforts from sororities and fraternities. Almost two months into the fall semester Greek organizations have already been working hard to raise monetary donations for their designated philanthropies.
There have already been many Greek life philanthropy events this semester and more to come this year. Events can include sports tournaments, car washes and bake sales.
On-campus chapters have certain charity organizations that they help raise money for. Tri Delta and Tau Kappa Epsilon both support St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Pi Beta Phi is supporting Read > Lead > Achieve, while Alpha Phi supports women’s heart health and Alpha Omicron Pi supports the arthritis foundation. Lambda Chi Alpha supports Feeding America and Chi Omega supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Their charity does not go unnoticed. Pi Beta Phi nationally has given over 46,000 books to under-served classrooms across America. In addition, the organization awarded $25,771.38 in Local Impact Grants to 33 organizations. At UMaine the women of Pi Beta Phi have held events such as Arrowspike, on Oct. 1, which was a volleyball tournament in support of Read > Lead > Achieve. For the tournament, they organized teams of six players each. Each participant donated $5 to the cause. In total, about $600 was raised in support of their philanthropy.
“As a new member, it was my first philanthropy event and I enjoyed being able to laugh it off and have fun, even when my team lost, because I knew it was for a good cause,” Sabrina Morro said, a new member of Pi Beta Phi.
The Pi Beta Phi chapter also has the annual Pumpkin Bust coming up. The event includes a food drive, a raffle, many fall crafts, and, of course, pumpkin busting. All proceeds and donations support the local food pantry as well as Read > Lead > Achieve.
The Tri Delta sorority and the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity are working together to host the “Delta House of Pancakes” event on Nov. 5. The event will be hosted at the Tau Kappa Epsilon house and pancakes will be served. All proceeds from this event will support St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The two Greek organizations are also asking for small donations from local businesses so that they may do a raffle basket.
“I love working for a cause bigger than any one person or group; I would love nothing more than to help out how I can,” Jimmy Hughes, a new Tau Kappa Epsilon member, said about the St. Jude charity event.
Hughes also talked about how he has had personal experience with people in his life having childhood cancer so it brings the cause closer to his heart.
Alpha Omicron Pi and Theta Chi also have a “Pie-a-Phi” event on the mall on Oct. 27. Participants can pay $3 to throw a pie in the face of a member of the sorority or fraternity, $5 to pie a president or $7 to pie both presidents. All the proceeds from this event go directly to SPCA of Hancock County. Besides monetary donations they also accepted cat and dog toys, pet food and treats, cleaning supplies, grooming equipment, collars and leashes and other similar items.
The National Panhellenic Council estimates that each year over $30 million is raised for charitable organisations. It is so important that each Greek organization has a philanthropic cause or organization to support because it allows them to all have at least one common goal in the chapter. It also encourages selflessness and caring for others, both of which are valuable moral ideals. When every member puts effort into achieving a goal, the outcome can be amazing.
