During the fall 2023 semester, Alpha Chi Rho men made a difference on their campuses, local communities, and with national philanthropic organizations. Overall, resident Brothers from twenty-nine Chapters and Colonies raised $33,000 for philanthropic efforts and conducted more than five-hundred hours of service. Below are some notable spotlights on some Chapters’ activities.
The Phi Gamma Chi Chapter at The College of New Jersey has always held a strong connection with community service and philanthropy. In early October, Brothers helped setup the Trenton YMCA 5K and pumpkin celebration, connecting with their local neighbors. Later on in the semester, the Brothers volunteered at the Ewing Tree Lighting, passing out flyers for the program and greeting local residents. The Chapter hosted multiple philanthropic events including food sales on campus, selling ice cream, homemade baked goods, and pretzels. The Chapter’s signature event, “Habitat Campout” returned to pre-COVID fundraising numbers of $1000 for the Trenton Habitat for Humanity. The Habitat Campout event sees Brothers camp out on the campus quad for a week and selling food to other students through the various activities the Brothers do each night.
In the Midwest, the Brothers of the Alpha Phi Chapter at Purdue University also held multiple community service and philanthropic events during the semester. Weekly, Brothers went to a local animal shelter, Natalie’s Second Chance, to clean kennels, walk the dogs, and provide any assistance they could to the owner Natalie. Also weekly, Brothers went to the local Panera to gather the leftover bread and baked goods at the end of the night and delivered it to a local homeless shelter and soup kitchen so they could use it throughout the night and following day. Finally, before the weather turned cold, Brothers helped clean up a section of the local river with other Purdue students. Philanthropically, the Chapter held a new event called “Crow Olympics” in which a team competed in multiple sporting events to win the first trophy for the event. A portion of the registration fee went to Habitat for Humanity and Brothers sold food during the event with all of those proceeds going to Habitat as well. The event raised $875. Additionally, during the entire month of November the Chapter participated in “Crow-vember” in partnership with the Movember movement. Each week, Brothers participated in an event to raise money for the cause and the Chapter sold custom “Crow Cups” to their friends and family to raise funds. Overall, the month-long event raised $2000.
Many of our Chapters held events for local organizations. Brothers at the Delta Sigma Phi Chapter (WPI) and the Phi Lambda Chapter (Penn State Univ.) volunteered at their local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. The Omega Phi Chapter (La Salle Univ.), Phi Mu Chi Chapter (Lock Haven Univ.) and Zeta Phi Chapter (Clarkson Univ.) held canned food drives for their local food pantries. Finally, the Alpha Phi Eta Chapter (Rutgers – Camden) and Phi Iota Chi Chapter (Rowan Univ.) held bake sales to benefit local philanthropic organizations.
The men of Alpha Chi Rho continue to make a difference on their campuses and local communities and will do so in 2024.