Linfield’s Kappa Sigma Fraternity prides itself on members being dedicated to community service at Linfield, as well as off campus. That’s why members were excited when their alumni advisor gave them the opportunity to volunteer at Wild Horse Youth Camp, a Young Life camp in Antelope, Ore., at the end of February.
More than 20 members of the fraternity were able to volunteer and help with everything from sound operations for bands playing at the camp, to serving kids food for breakfast and lunch.
“[Community service] is something that Kappa Sigma Fraternity has always been passionate about,” said junior Sid Jensen, president of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Kappa Sigma Fraternity is also dedicated to getting others at Linfield involved with community service. They’ve teamed up with Linfield’s Video Game Club to raise money for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and they also encourage other Greek Life members to join them.
“We want to encourage the other fraternities to get more involved [too],” freshman Tom Steelhammer said.
Volunteering at the Special Olympics is another activity Kappa Sigma Fraternity is dedicated to, participating every year as a fraternity. Kappa Sigma Fraternity completes community service every Saturday as a fraternity, and it typically has too many members volunteering for the work that needs to be done that day.
“It really drew me to Kappa Sigma Fraternity that they were dedicated to not only the college, but the surrounding community as well,” Steelhammer said. “It made it seem like a more valuable experience being a brother of Kappa Sigma.”
Volunteering together is something that members of Kappa Sigma Fraternity usually enjoy doing, as it provides a bonding experience that brings members closer together, Steelhammer said.
Although it is required for members to complete at least 25 hours of community service per semester, it’s common for members to go beyond those hours every semester, Jensen said.
On April 21, Kappa Sigma Fraternity plans on completing a walk-a-thon to raise money for the Autism Society of Oregon at Oaks Park in Portland, Ore.
“I think it’s a really good thing for people to know that fraternities, in general do good things like this,” Jensen said.
Samantha Sigler
News editor
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Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity has begun preparation for its new philanthropy, the “Pike Push.” The service will all go to the Wounded Firefighter’s Fund.
The fire truck that sits behind the fraternity house is a symbol for the mens’ philanthropy.
The fraternity received the truck from an alumni who repaired it at his house, but it has been a part of the fraternity for years.
Members are going to ask local business and corporations to donate to the cause. Then they plan on attempting to push the fire truck, and for every 100 feet the fraternity moves the vehicle, the businesses will donate a set amount of money.
This event is tentatively going to be held on campus in May.
“If we can use it to help a person who the community really cares about, that’s what we want to do,” sophomore Lee Rivers said.
Rivers is the community service chair for Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. He is actively trying to turn the community service of the fraternity around.
With the fraternity’s new house, many of the members actually live together, making it possible to do more joint activities in the community.
Junior Harper Taylor, external vice president, said the fraternity has come a long way from his freshman year. Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity did not have its own house and only about 12 members were a part of the chapter.
“They weren’t doing anything but they had the potential to do a lot,” Taylor said.
This year, Pike has about 32 members and are currently rushing seven more.
Since the opening of its new house this summer, the men have been able to attract more people to join. The majority of the members live in the house and hope to achieve more than past years.
“Community service is not just a Greek thing or a Pike thing, it’s an everybody thing,” Rivers said.
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Ivanna Tucker/Features editor
Ivanna Tucker can be reached at linfieldreviewfeatures@gmail.com