Looking at Greek Life from the outside, it’s hard to see past the media stereotypes: the nonstop parties and hazing, bratty girls and snobby guys. If you’ve never spent time around members of Greek Life or have never been a part of it, it’s easy to pass us all off as lazy, spoiled, drunken troublemakers. I get it. Recently, it seems like the only things that comes out of Greek Life are horror stories, trips to the ER, and court cases. As someone who knew only how the media portrayed Greek Life before joining my chapter, I had no idea that there was an entirely different side of Greek communities that often gets bypassed in the news and even in everyday conversation.
Every Greek chapter nationwide has a designated philanthropy that its members devote countless hours toward raising funds and volunteering for. Every year, thousands and thousands of dollars are raised to help numerous people affected by everything from breast cancer to PTSD to domestic violence. Sadly, this is never the news we hear about.
Nationally, there are 750,000 undergraduate members in 12,000 chapters on more than 800 campuses in the USA and Canada, each one with their own specific philanthropy. Over $7 million is raised for philanthropic organizations by Greeks nationwide.
On the University of North Texas campus alone, the Greek community raised over $90,000 for local and national charities or organizations, and members logged over 21,152 hours of community service.
In the spring of 2014, the Gamma Tau chapter of Pi Kappa Phi helped raise funds for a fellow student, who had been paralyzed in a car accident, to receive special braces so she could walk the stage at graduation. (You can watch the news coverage of this amazing act of kindness here: :http://www.myfoxphilly.com/clip/10156245/paralyzed... )
This past week, several members of the Texas Epsilon chapter of Pi Beta Phi attended their national convention in Chicago, Illinois, where over 10,000 books were donated to children through their philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve.
The Alpha Alpha chapter of Chi Omega, whose philanthropic efforts benefit the Make-a-Wish foundation, has sent two girls on wish trips to see Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber, and most recently, they sent a little boy named Zach on the trip of a lifetime to LegoLand.
The Gamma Upsilon chapter of Alpha Delta Pi has raised over $10,000 the past two years to support the Dallas area Ronald McDonald House charities. This year, the proceeds from their main event, Mocktails, went to refurbishing and building a new craft room for one of the houses.
My own chapter, the Gamma Phi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, raised over $15,000 this past spring to support educational, support, and research programs for breast cancer education and awareness through various events during one of our bi-annual Think Pink Weeks, and we just recently began philanthropic partnerships with three incredible new organizations: The American Cancer Society, Bright Pink, and the NFL.
The Greek community at the University of North Texas is one of the most passionate and dedicated that I’ve seen. The examples above are just a glimpse into the amazing things we do. Every chapter at UNT works hard to enrich the lives of others, and it's the same all across the nation. Look beyond the red solo cups, short shorts, and theme parties. You’ll see that we are all passionate about what we do. Philanthropy is something meaningful to us. Sure, waking up at 4 a.m. to volunteer at the American Cancer Society’s 5K is exhausting, but meeting and talking with women who have survived and overcome so much, due in part to the work your chapter has done, is priceless.
My creed, the creed of Zeta Tau Alpha, reads “to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served.” I live by these words daily, as they remind me to never underestimate a little volunteer work. Never think that your efforts and contributions are going to waste. Never forget that what you do can do wonders for someone you've never even met. It’s a shame that many of our outstanding achievements are glossed over by misrepresentations or the mistakes of an individual.
If you’re reading this and you haven’t gone through recruitment yet, I encourage you to take some time and do your research on potential chapters’ philanthropies. Find a chapter that serves an organization that you can really get behind and be passionate about, if you aren’t passionate or connected to one already. After all, philanthropy is one of the many reasons that people choose to join Greek Life. As present and future members, it’s our job to make sure that traditions of selflessness, service, and charity continue to be cornerstones of the Greek experience. We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
