IFC fraternities increase time spent serving the community

Despite their busy schedules of classes, sports, clubs and Greek events, Penn fraternity members are trying to give something back to the community as well. The InterFraternity Council has broadened its community service program this semester, both increasing and diversifying its philanthropic efforts. While the IFC has been active in community service endeavors in past years, the intensity has increased recently. Members say these efforts are not only philanthropic in nature, but also help to clean up the party-animal image of the fraternity man. "The image gets a little more tarnished each year," said Lambda Chi Alpha Community Service Chairman Matt Mongon, a Wharton junior. "We want to show that fraternities give back to the community." As part of the IFC's new community service plans for this year, new fraternity members began to get involved in service almost as soon as they signed their bids, with the pledge class of each fraternity designing and participating in a philanthropy project. "It's good to do something positive with pledging and get the negative light off of it," said IFC Vice President for Community Service Mark Zimring, a Delta Kappa Epsilon brother and a College sophomore. For more than a year, the IFC has worked in conjunction with Civic House on community service. In 1999, the IFC and the Panhellenic Council worked with Civic House on a project called "2000 for 2000," in which the Greeks completed 2,000 hours of service by the start of the new year. The IFC as a whole is involved with Philadelphians Concerned about Housing, a Habitat for Humanity-type organization that helps homeless people obtain places to live. The Greeks also hold periodic blood drives -- including an IFC-wide drive that will occur next Thursday at the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity house -- and collect spare change for a program called Upward Bound, which is designed to help underprivileged teenagers succeed. Individual fraternities are involved in a wide range of philanthropic activities and fundraisers. Many send brothers to work at the University City Hospitality Coalition soup kitchen, while others sell daffodils on Locust Walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Other fraternities take a cue from their national organizations when it comes to community service. Lambda Chi Alpha plans to hold its first annual Watermelon Olympics this fall, during which teams will compete in events such as watermelon shotput and a seed-spitting contest. The proceeds from the Olympics -- already a tradition at Lambda Chi chapters around the country -- will most likely go toward the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank. Many of the IFC's community service activities will center around the annual Greek Weekend, which will be held in early April this year. According to Zimring, among other projects, the Greeks will clean up Philadelphia's streets and hold a dance-a-thon. Beta Theta Pi Community Service Chairman Rob Smith also noted that the fraternities' primary reason for stepping up their community service programs is to fight the stereotypes that plague Greek men. "The main reason now is for good publicity -- and that's a good underlying reason to get involved," said Smith, a Wharton sophomore. But he also noted that community service can be very rewarding for the individual. "Everyone finds their own little niche, something they're interested in," Smith said. "Once they find that, you don't really need to push them."