Greeks serve others

One hundred and sixty-eight members of the greek community volunteered for a total of 504 hours Friday and Saturday at five non-profit organizations for the Greek Weekend of Service.

“We are a community and when we come together a little bit turns into a lot,” Interfraternity Council Vice President of Community Programs Jakson Alvarez said. “Being greek is about doing things bigger than yourself.”

The IFC, Panhellenic Association, Multi-Cultural Greek Council and National Pan-Hellenic Council were all invited to participate, but only IFC, PHA and MCGC were able to attend.

“Unfortunately there is only so much we can do with everyone’s schedule,” Alvarez said.

Of the 52 IFC and PHA chapters, 45 volunteered. One MCGC chapter joined them.
In addition, 14 members of Sigma Phi Epsilon volunteered 56 hours separately at Habitat for Humanity. Also, Phi Mu went to Lakeview Elementary School.

“We had pre-existing plans,” Sig Ep Service and Philanthropy Chair Reece Clark said. “It had been scheduled since January, and we have done one build a semester.”

Alvarez said he worked with Hayley Gunter, PHA vice president of community involvement, to make the Greek Weekend of Service happen, and have been planning for months. They decided to lead the project since IFC and PHA have more resources than the other two councils.

MCGC Community Service Chair Blair Richards said she contacted all of the MCGC chapters about the event. Only Chi Delta Phi was able to participate. Two of their 15 members went to Habitat for Humanity.

“They have fewer volunteers, but percentage-wise it’s about the same,” Alvarez said. “Some chapters had one to three volunteers and some had as many as 10.”

Alvarez said he wrote many personalized emails, secured transportation and contacted organizations that needed volunteers. He organized eight two-hour projects at the five organizations.

“We contacted several non-profits and eight of them could take large numbers of volunteers,” Alvarez said.

They chose to volunteer at five organizations: the Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Becky’s Place, Bloomington Parks and Recreation and Crestmont Boys and Girls Club.

“We tried to make it very simple and easy for everyone to get involved,” Alvarez said. “People just had to show up and volunteer.”

IFC Director of Community Programs John Norton said he went to the Boys and Girls Club and played basketball and soccer and drew on the sidewalks with chalk with the children. After the children left, he said he and the other volunteers helped clean up by mopping and taking decorations off the walls.

“I’m not the best with kids,” Norton said. “It really pushed me out of my comfort zone. You could definitely tell that they were thankful to have us.”

Alvarez said Becky’s Place reached out to the greek councils to say they needed volunteers. Becky’s Place Program Director Cami Pritchett said about 30 students came and it was wonderful.

“It was a large group coming with a purpose to be project minded,” Pritchett said. “They were very helpful. We really appreciated having them there.”

IFC Vice President of Communications Sean Jordan said his group did some mulching and created a path around the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Twin Lakes Sports Complex baseball field.

“It was a great time,” Jordan said. “It wasn’t too hard, it was a really nice day and a great workout. Everyone could tell they were making a positive difference in the local community.”

Jordan said the experience was a chance to meet other greeks in the community.

“I want people to realize how important it is to give back and work with people outside of their house,” Norton said. “It is about going outside of your comfort zone.”

Richards said since the greek community has such a large role on campus, volunteering together showed they are unified for a cause.

“We wanted to give back to the greater community,” Alvarez said. “We want to keep showing the community what we can do.”