By Jonathan Elkins
The various Greek organizations at Eastern New Mexico University organized and hosted a week-long food and clothing drive that started on Jan. 19 and ended on Jan. 26. This is the first event of its kind to be hosted by the Greek community at ENMU. Nearly every Greek organization on campus holds its own philanthropy effort or community event but this is the first independently organized drive held by the entire Greek community.
Riley Daggett is a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and President of the ENMU Fraternity Council. “We donated over 100 articles of clothing along with nearly 30 non-perishable food items,” said Daggett. The articles of clothing were donated to Consigning Women and Men Angel Ministries on the Portales Square, and the food items were given to the Community Center food pantry.
“Most of the Greek organizations on campus have their own events that they participate in each year. We wanted to shake things up a bit this semester and give back to the community directly. We started this donation drive in the hopes of inspiring other students and organizations to give back as well.” Daggett said.
The Greek organizations often volunteer at university organized functions like Eastern in Action or other community events. Eastern in Action is an event hosted by ENMU each Spring semester where teams made of both students and staff take a day to clear brush and litter free of charge. In recent years ENMU has hosted a variety of community outreach programs to give back to those in need in Roosevelt County, and have always encouraged student organizations to be involved.
Kappa Sigma hosts their yearly “CowDrop” fundraiser, where a portion of the proceeds are donated to both community efforts, as well as national charities. Phi Mu Alpha regularly participates in fundraisers to aid the ENMU Music Department. Zeta Tau Alpha hosts both an annual Spaghetti Dinner and their “Big Man on Campus” event to raise funds for breast cancer awareness. Chi Omega organizes several philanthropy events each year to fundraise for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
While the donation drive has ended for the clothing and food drive, those wishing to contribute to the community can find more information about the Portales Community center and Consigning Women and Men Angel Ministries at https://www.cscofportales.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/ConsigningWomenAngelMinistries respectively.
