Steve Nakata, Student Affairs
Over 1,500 students from Washington State University Pullman’s Greek community recently converged on downtown Pullman to help with many projects including spring cleaning, food distribution at the Community Action Center, organizing trivia for Bishop Place residents, and raising money to support local businesses.
The three Greek governing councils — Panhellenic, Interfraternity, and Multicultural — agreed to match the amount of money they raised and gathered more than $10,100 to support the Pullman Downtown Business Association and Music on Main events.
Greek Week, which included more than 250 hours of community service, began on March 30 and concluded April 3. Dan Welter, director for the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the purpose of Greek Week is to provide service to the community and practice philanthropy.
“Pullman is our home, and by supporting the Pullman Downtown Business Association, the students wanted to show their support for our vibrant downtown and surrounding community,” Welter said. “As the packed week of activities demonstrated, there were many ways to show their support and help our businesses shine a little more.”
One of the week’s highlights for Janice Gomez, vice president of service for the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC), was seeing over 200 students show up on the first day to pick up trash along Grand Avenue and Main Street. She said another standout moment was the “table wars” that not only raised more than $2,700 at that single event but also featured a stroll performance by MGC chapters that captured the community’s unity and energy.
“This year’s Greek Week was truly one for the books and it almost felt too good to be true to see our community come together and give back in such a genuine way,” Gomez said. “I’ve never felt more accomplished, and giving back to the community is a priority for all our chapters.”
