Now until February 29th, Skulls (Phi Kappa Sigma) fraternity is running a winter clothing drive in conjunction with Lancaster County Food Hub, a local resource center for food, clothing, and emergency shelter. Sean O’Connor, former philanthropy chair, shared a few words about his experience in Skulls and the fraternity’s current initiatives. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Nora Williams: To start off, what position do you hold in Skulls, and how do you fit into the fraternity as a whole?
Sean O’Connor: Last semester, I was our treasurer and philanthropy chair, but we’re currently in the process of officer transition, so I’m no longer the treasurer and philanthropy chair. Currently, I’m our fundraising and risk-management chair, so my responsibilities have shifted a little bit from philanthropy and finances more towards fundraising and safety in general.
NW: How long has Skulls been engaged in philanthropy work in the community?
SC: I’m not entirely sure, but I believe my chapter has been doing philanthropic work since the start, since the chapter was founded in 1854.
[Note: All Greek life organizations are required to participate in philanthropy.]
NW: Can you tell me a bit about the purpose of the winter clothing drive, and your partnership with the Lancaster County Food Hub?
SC: We chose Lancaster County Food Hub because last semester we did a food drive for them right before the holidays that was really successful. We were able to donate over a hundred pounds of food. But I learned of Lancaster County Food Hub two summers ago. I worked at PSSI [Public Service Summer Institute], and our topic for that summer was food insecurity. I learned that the Lancaster County Food Hub is the main food and clothing hub for people in Lancaster County, so I thought it would be a great charity for us to work with.
NW: Thinking about Skulls as it is now, what makes you most proud of the fraternity?
SC: That’s a hard question. I mean, we’ve definitely been more involved with the campus community in the last year or two than we have been in a while, so I’m definitely proud that we’re doing more philanthropic events, more fundraisers, and just more things to get the campus community involved in general.
