There are 15 social fraternities and sororities on campus that organize and carry out dozens of philanthropy events and service projects throughout the year. These events help many people in need and provide students with an opportunity to do so in an organized manner. Some of the more recent events include Ignite the Night, which took place on Oct. 16, and G.I.V.E., which will take place Nov. 8.
“These events range from weekly projects to large-scale funding events and anything in between,” said Briana McGlamory, coordinator for fraternity and sorority life.
These 15 groups plan the majority of their service projects and events, but when an event is rather large, they turn to McGlamory for assistance. McGlamory also supervises registration of any events that involve alcohol. Excluding large events or parties, fraternities and sororities are left to their own accord. The Bengal Lancers, for example, have been working on a concert fundraising event for the past two years, a process that has been overseen by McGlamory. It will take place this spring.
All events provide members of fraternities and sororities with the opportunity to acquire service hours, as each member must serve at least seven hours per semester. For an excellence rating for their fraternity or sorority, each member must serve 10 or more hours per semester.
“Each member is required to do seven hours each semester,” McGlamory said.
The minimum requirement of seven hours of service comes from one of the four pillars designated by the Greek Council to structure fraternity or sorority life.
These pillars are leadership, camaraderie, scholarship and philanthropy. A record of the service hours completed by all fraternity and sorority members on campus is collected as part of the terms of the Standards of Excellence. Last year, 14,843 service hours were completed by all the members of these groups. There are fewer members of these organizations in the fall, which accounts for lower numbers of service hours in that semester. Trinity achieved its fifth year on the President’s Higher Education Honor Roll, given to universities whose service hours reach exemplary status, in 2013. The listing for this year has not yet been released.
“I’m extremely excited to expand profits to really help out our philanthropy even more next year,” said Allison Gipson, Alpha Chi Lambda’s external social chair.
Ignite the Night is an event held by Alpha Chi Lambda in order to raise money for An Orphan’s Bright Star, which provides money to orphanages in Ukraine. It began four years ago, and this year the event raised $1,846.80 for the organization, with over 450 students joining the sorority at Club Rio to contribute money for the non-profit.
Organizing this event involved a large amount of planning within the sorority, including coordinating with club owners about their policies and addressing risk management plans. G.I.V.E. stands for Get Into the Volunteer Experience and will be held Nov. 8. It is a volunteer day that allows anyone on campus to volunteer. Both Ignite the Night and G.I.V.E. are open to all students.
“[Ignite the Night] has grown every year since it started concerning the number of participating students and money raised,” Gipson said. “The event was very successful this year.”
