Alex Williams remembers taking part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge as a middle schooler, and he didn’t expect to relive that happy memory when he enrolled at George Mason University. Yet, it wasn’t long before Alex was standing in the middle of campus and getting pelted with water balloons by passersby who donated a few bucks.
It was silly. Sophomoric, even. But the nostalgic stunt raised money for ALS research, and it let people know that he and his Phi Delta Theta brothers were serious about making a positive impact in the community and the broader world.
“Working toward bettering our community and ourselves is the core principle of our organization,” said Alex, now a junior and fraternity president. “It’s a privilege that has given me more experiences and knowledge than I could have even imagined when I came to school.”
The thought of college fraternities and sororities might fill your mind with caricatures of wild parties and raucous behavior. What often goes understated about fraternity and sorority life, however, is a longstanding and ongoing commitment to community service.
About 1,000 students at Mason are involved in 40 different fraternity and sorority organizations, each with a charitable aspect of their mission. It made sense for the Phi Delts to riff on the Ice Bucket Challenge with their Splash-A-Phi fundraiser, for example, because the fraternity’s primary philanthropic goal is raising money and awareness to battle ALS. They also help Northern Virginia families affected by ALS with tasks such as lawn work and home maintenance.
Other fraternities and sororities at Mason have a different humanitarian focus, such as Chi Omega sorority’s support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“Every single organization does something different in their own way, but it all encompasses service and education,” said Ella Jackson, President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Chapter and Vice President of the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Black Fraternities and Sororities at Mason.
“I’ve come out a better person for it.”
Scope and scale of community service runs deep and wide
Fraternities and sororities at Mason undertake a wide variety of community service initiatives, from making hats for cancer patients to picking up trash along roads near campus:
Tau Kappa Epsilon raised $10,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Kappa Phi Gamma volunteered with So Others Might Eat to package 200 meals for food-insecure people in Washington, D.C..
Phi Beta Sigma helped FACETS clean out homes and move furniture for refugees coming to Northern Virginia.
Phi Iota Alpha partnered with a D.C. neighborhood on a block party that included voter registration and STI testing.
Alpha Kappa Alpha provided breakfast to residents at The Lamb Center, a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
“We bought the food. We cooked the food. We served the food. And people said, ‘thank you,’” Jackson said. “Oh, my goodness, my heart. That was powerful.”
While each fraternity and sorority has its own benevolent priority, they also team up for Founders Fridays when brothers and sisters from across campus come together for joint service projects. One of last year’s events involved spending a few hours at nearby Daniel’s Run Elementary School teaming up with the nonprofit Lands and Waters to remove invasive species, plant native trees and spread mulch in the outdoor living and learning spaces.
Students get to see the world from a new perspective through those hands-on experiences, said Phil McDaniel, Associate Director of Student Involvement.
“Leadership development is a big piece of our fraternities and sororities,” he said. “These types of opportunities allow for that to happen and help us create global citizens.”
Personal impact is immediate and ongoing
Avery Shippen didn’t know anybody when she came to Mason from Nashville, Tenn. By joining Chi Omega, she instantly added a few dozen sorority sisters into her phone’s contacts. It was nice to always see familiar faces around campus.
Beyond that, the sorority’s community service helped Avery settle in and get to know Fairfax as if it were her hometown. Chi Omega even raised enough money for Make-A-Wish to grant a local family’s wish for a pontoon boat.
“I absolutely loved my first-year experience because of fraternities and sororities life,” said Avery, now, Panhellenic Council’s assistant vice president of recruitment and a member of the Panhellenic Council’s executive board. “We’re not just parties. (A fraternity or sorority) is truly an organization where you meet people with the same values as you, who hope to achieve a lot.
“It’s really helped me become a much more well-rounded person.”