Greeks Give Back 2015

While members of UT’s Fraternity and Sorority Life community are already familiar with their individual organizations’ philanthropies, they will come together to serve the Tampa Bay community on Saturday, Nov. 7, in the second annual Greeks Give Back.

“Bringing representatives from chapters to new sites and allowing them to give back with people from other organizations helps to build a stronger, more unified Greek community,” said Brian Hoffman, coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life, noting that UT Greek members annually volunteer thousands of community service hours individually.

“With more than 1,400 students in these organizations, students value different community agencies for different reasons,” Hoffman said. “Being able to share their reasons and share in these common experiences helps our students become more culturally and socially aware citizens.”

Lia Quinones ’16, the chief executive officer of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, is also a volunteer coordinator for the PEACE Volunteer Center. She led the planning for last year’s pilot event, which drew 65 participants to seven sites. She said they have 235 volunteers, including UT faculty and staff, signed up to serve in 10 sites next week.

“When you volunteer with your sisters or brothers, you already have a strong sense of camaraderie,” said Quinones, a criminology and psychology double major from Valrico, FL, noting that community service is something that all Greeks share in common. “It gets us thinking about bigger issues than what’s going on in school, and we’re able to bond over something so meaningful.”

The students are set to visit the following sites, which were chosen based on previous relationships with the PEACE Volunteer Center, from 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m.:

Glazer Children's Museum
Habitat for Humanity
Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful
Metropolitan Ministries
Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay
Tampa Heights Community Garden
The RICH house
The Spring of Tampa Bay
YMCA Camp Cristina
New Life Village

“By emphasizing community service, Greek Life instills a sense of purpose and community action to benefit agencies to provide a service or assist individuals who may be less fortunate,” Hoffman said. “Service is a bridge between people, so whenever students are able to immerse themselves in connecting with others, it raises their awareness of various social issues and allows them a platform to potentially take action addressing these issues.”

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