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Greeks Serve to Make Change
by Caitlin Daly
Zeta Chi Theta looking for hungry homeless people at the main downtown Asheville Bus Stop
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Greek organizations around the country have gotten the reputation of drinking heavily and throwing crazy parties.
The eight Greek organizations at Mars Hill College are working to improve their images. Each organization is active in the community and on campus doing community service.
The Inter-Greek Council (IGC), a union of all Greek organizations on campus, requires each sorority and fraternity to complete two community service projects each semester. The IGC representatives from each organization vote on each proposed service project.
Each semester IGC also puts together a mass service project involving all the Greeks. Two thirds of the members of each organization must be present for the sorority or fraternity to get credit for being there.
On April 20, all of the Greeks participated in the on-campus Crop Walk to stop hunger. The Crop Walk raised money for Church World Service, whose overall ministry is to fight hunger throughout the world. Each individual Greek organization was required to raise $75 to $100 by getting people to pledge money. Two-thirds of the members of each organization were required to be there to avoid a fine from IGC.
Sarah Thomas and Tiffany Geisler of Sigma Alpha Chi soliciting for the Ronald McDonald Rock-a-Thon
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In fall of 2007, all of the Greeks stood outside of the local Ingles supermarket to collect items for My Sister's Place, a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. Shoppers could select from a list of items needed by the shelter and could then buy that item inside. The Greeks then arranged for the items to be delivered.
Each semester, Delta Kappa Theta local fraternity holds a blood drive co- sponsored by the American Red Cross. Blood drives were held on September 25 and February 27 in Wren Student Union. More than 80 students donated blood in September, and another 58 people donated blood in February, including many of the brothers of DKT.
Delta Phi Zeta local sorority had a stuffed animal drive for the North Carolina State Troopers, who collect stuffed animals to give children a sense of comfort in times of hardship. DFZ went to each dormitory on campus and collected 22 stuffed animals, and a total of $131.86 that bought more stuffed animals.
The rockers at work
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The sisters of Delta Zeta have volunteered numerous times with Madison County Habitat for Humanity. The house they worked on in the town of Mars Hill was recently finished and dedicated, and a single mother and her two sons has moved in. On November 17, the sisters of DZ of worked at the Habitat house, sizing and cutting dry wall.
The brothers of Theta Chi, and Zeta Chi Theta, and the sisters of Sigma Alpha Chi, and Gamma Chi Epsilon volunteered on Saturday, March 29, at Blue Ridge Homes, which are group homes for the mentally disabled in Asheville. From 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. they had a cookout and played games with the clients and faculty of Blue Ridge.
Each Halloween, the Reuter Family YMCA holds a carnival that includes face painting, games, costumes, and a haunted house. Iota Chi Alpha volunteered to help at the carnival, and participated in the haunted house. One sister, Heather Gainey, did face painting.
Gamma Chi Epsilon local sorority participated in a walk for Multiple Sclerosis in Hickory, North Carolina on April 12. It was a 5K walk, and the sisters GXE participated in the walk for one of the sister's friend's father, who has battled MS.
Mind games at Blue Ridge Homes mental health facility
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Sigma Alpha Chi local sorority holds a rock-a-thon outside of McDonalds each fall semester. A rock-a-thon is when you rock in rocking chairs for an extended period of time to try to raise money. The sisters of SAX rocked from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 3. A large portion of the proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald House.
Theta Chi National Fraternity participated in a campus cleanup. They picked up trash indoors and outdoors on campus. According to the brothers of QX, the "beautification of the Mars Hill College campus is highly important, and increases the livability for those students who live on campus."
At the downtown Asheville bus station, Zeta Chi Theta local fraternity and Gamma Chi Epsilon partnered with Sandy Kovaks on November 17 to give out bag lunches to the homeless. Kovaks got restaurants such as J&S Cafeteria to donate food to put in the bag lunches.
According to one brother of ZXQ, "No words could express how good the brothers felt after filling the stomachs of so many people. I only wish our resources would not have expired so quickly. I for one was shocked with how many people are down on their luck just in the Asheville area."
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