From packaging meals at local food banks to pushup-based fundraisers for charity, several Indiana University fraternities spent the last two months organizing a mix of community service and fundraising efforts across campus and the city.
The efforts reflect a broader push within the IU Interfraternity Council to make both service and philanthropy more central to Greek life, following a February IU IFC meeting, where chapter leaders reviewed their organizations’ strengths and weaknesses.
IFC Vice President of Communications Max Moxley said about 60% of council representatives believed their chapters needed to do more to promote philanthropy.
Chapters responded by shifting efforts towards philanthropic events. IU’s chapter of Acacia, Pi Lambda Phi, Sigma Pi and Theta Chi introduced events focused on charity or volunteering.
Indiana Acacia fraternity organized a weeklong “Seven Days of Service” initiative from Feb. 24 through March 2, part of a broader program adopted by Acacia chapters across the country.
The IU chapter partnered with organizations and businesses including Hoosier Hills Food Bank, New Hope for Families and Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard, where it hosted a dine-and-donate event Feb. 28.
Members packaged canned goods and cereal into meal kits at the food bank, and they completed maintenance work, including mulching and moving furniture, at New Hope for Families, an organization that provides emergency shelter and early childhood education programs for families experiencing homelessness. The chapter also conducted cleanup efforts along Kirkwood Avenue and at Griffy Lake.
The initiative also included a weeklong canned food drive, where members collected more than 75 donations for Hoosier Hills Food Bank and Community Kitchen of Monroe County, according to Acacia chapter President Hank Temples. The chapter contributed more than 300 service hours over the course of the week, Temples said.
