One of the most beneficial aspects of Greek organizations is their philanthropy and community service efforts. The community service these groups provide benefit the organizations and people they choose to help, as well as those doing the service, who then create a culture of benevolence on the campus itself.  

I personally chose not to get involved in Greek life as a first-year student. While the idea of being in a fraternity did not necessarily intrigue me, it has been hard to ignore the positive impact that Greek organizations have had at Elon throughout my first year here. Recently, Elon held two major charity events on campus, Elonthon and Relay for Life. Thanks to some encouraging friends, I participated in both of these events. As a first time participant in both, I was amazed by not only the number of people that showed up, but the substantial amounts of money raised for good causes at each event. Among the people that showed up, I was surprised to see a large number of Greek life members there. They came in flocks to Elonthon and at Relay for Life, where you participate as teams, many Greek houses brought their own teams filled with members of their respective organizations. While many of these people who participated through their fraternities or sororities may have done so regardless of Greek life, I feel as though the emphasis placed on charity by these organizations is extremely influential in encouraging individuals to get involved in service. Without Greek life, I think fewer people would participate in these events and even if they do, they would be less encouraged and enthusiastic about raising money. I have found Greek organizations here at Elon are adamant about community service and helping other people.

But Elon is certainly not alone in this respect. Hundreds of colleges and universities around the country have Greek organizations working to provide service to those in need. In a study done on college students at institutions across the southeast, Larry Long of Michigan State University found that less than 9% of the fraternity and sorority members in the study reported not engaging in community service. If this is true for the rest of the nation which research suggests it is, then over 8 million students in Greek organizations are actively engaging in philanthropy. And it’s not just the number of students participating that is shocking, it’s the amount of work being done. At Western Illinois University, members of the Greek community raised over $60,000 while performing nearly 11,000 hours of community service. On top of this sort of work done throughout the year, fraternities and sororities participate in Greek Week, which is the major fundraising week for Greek organizations. Just one of many examples of great service during Greek Week came in 2011 when the LSU Greek board of directors partnered with Habitat for Humanity to construct two houses over just eight days. College Greek organizations encourage charity and service both on an individual and group level, and these acts not only benefit those they raise money for, but also the students themselves.

On top of directly helping their communities through charity and community service, fraternities and sororities may create a better community through their members. Greek organizations encourage community service as a way to help people in need, but they also value personal growth among their members. Performing community service and raising money for charity as well as being in an atmosphere that promotes growth allows these students to become better citizens and in turn create a better community around them. Research done at Mercer and FSU support this idea, as Greek members reported gains in personal growth and social learning due to their interactions within the Greek community. The core values of fraternities and sororities encourage personal development, enabling students to create a more positive environment on college campuses.

Despite the negative publicity that Greek organizations, especially fraternities, receive from the media, the work they do that is often less publicized is invaluable to the communities that they serve. I feel as though it would be detrimental if higher education schools were to cut their ties with these organizations.