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A number of charitable organizations and individuals in need in the Southeast Missouri region are benefiting as the result of the highly successful Greek Week 2009 held March 29-April 4 at Southeast Missouri State University.
Greek Week is held each year in the spring at Southeast to celebrate membership in the Greek community. Greek Week consists of seven days of community service, social interaction and friendly competition.
Members of Southeast's fraternities and sororities volunteered at the Special Olympics, collected food and money to be donated to community organizations and individuals, participated in various community service projects around Cape Girardeau, and conducted a blood drive to assist in the ongoing need to save lives. Together, members of Southeast fraternities and sororities donated more than 1,500 hours of community service during the week.
“Greek Organizations not only impact the community, they impact their individual members as well. Each activity we do during Greek Week shows a little bit about the impact these organizations have,” said Teena Reasoner, assistant director for fraternities and sororities at Southeast.
“Obviously, the main focus of Greek Week is on the philanthropy and community service that fraternities and sororities provide. During the week, we also took the time to showcase other talents through activities such as Greek Games, the Spelling Bee, Banner Contest and Greek Sing. The Greek Awards Ceremony capped off the week.”
The Greek Week Blood Drive, held March 1-4, produced 502 pints of useable blood for the American Red Cross.
“Each sorority and fraternity has a goal that the blood drive chairs would like them to meet. The goal keeps in mind that certain people cannot physically donate and the phobia of donating. This is the second year in a row that the Southeast Greeks and student body surpassed the goal of 475 units of useable blood,” said Katie Breckenkamp, Greek week director
As a result of fund raising, $25,000 will be distributed in donations to the ALS Society, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Special Olympics of Southeast Missouri, The Backstoppers and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Each Greek chapter is responsible for raising money through fund-raising activities or by accepting donations. The Greek Week Executive Board votes each year on the organizations to which the funds should be donated.
Each charitable organization received $5,000 in donations from Greek Week. In addition to the blood units and funds, more than 34,000 cans of food were donated to the Salvation Army as part of the week.
Greek Week is also the time of year when the Greek community and the University recognizes outstanding chapter and individual achievements. A number of awards and honors were presented to Greek students at the All Greek Chapter meeting. Joe Gholson of Harrisburg, Ill., of Lambda Chi Alpha was named Greek Man of the Year, and Melissa Quinn of Barnhart, Mo., of Alpha Xi Delta, was named Greek Woman of the Year for their leadership and service to the Greek system and University over the past four years.
The women of Gamma Phi Beta, along with the men of Lambda Chi Alpha were presented the President’s Award for Fraternal Excellence by Dr. Gerald McDougall, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University. The award is the highest honor given to a fraternity or sorority on the Southeast campus and recognizes extensive achievement in the following seven areas: academic achievement, chapter management, membership development, new member recruitment and education, philanthropy and community service, community relations and risk management.
Jayanti Ray, Southeast professor of communication disorders, was awarded Professor of the Year Award for her outstanding teaching practices, and dedication toward students. The women of Gamma Phi Beta nominated Ray for this award.
http://www.semo.edu/news/index_21804.htm
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