Southeast 2024 Greek Week Nets $25,000 for Philanthropy

Southeast Missouri State University's Greek Week 2024 held April 6-14 raised more than $25,000 in the spirit of philanthropy to support the campus and local community, with this year's blood drive finishing as one the largest in recent Greek Week history. The blood drive netted 452 units donated to the American Red Cross.

"The partnership with the American Red Cross is a long-standing tradition for our students and one that is consistently one of the largest blood drives in our region," said Dr. Bruce Skinner, associate vice president for Student Life. "This means a potential of over 2,000 hospital patients will receive lifesaving transfusions thanks to our efforts. The Greek Week blood drive is one of the examples of what our fraternity and sorority community can do when they come together to support our campus, community, and region."

During the week, Southeast Greeks raised near $10,000 to benefit several local organizations, including One City, Boy Scouts of America, Dream Factory, Foster Adopt Connect, SEMO Network Against Sexual Violence, Community Partnership of Southeast MO, and Voices for Children. The students also expanded their fundraising for the region by partnering with Special Olympics to raise $15,100 to support area athletes.

MacKenzie Baker, the Polar Plunge Greek Week Coordinator, said, "This event showed that the Greek community strives to build members that consistently give back to their community, educate others, and raise awareness and increase acceptance about intellectual disabilities."

In addition, Southeast's Greek community collected more than 5,500 canned goods or food items. This year's items were donated to the Redhawk Food Pantry, which serves members of the University community

"Because we were donating to the Redhawk Food Pantry there continues to be strong support from our students," Skinner said. "Because of this success, we expect the pantry to be well stocked for an entire year."

Continuing with one of the newer Greek Week traditions, the Greek community also hosted a clothing drive to benefit the Safe House for Women in Cape Girardeau. More than 4,000 men's, women's and children's clothing items were collected.

Connor Warnke, the philanthropy chair who organized the clothing drive, stated that, "the collaborative effort amongst chapters benefits the Cape Girardeau community. The dedication to service and fundraising for local nonprofits is what makes Southeast's Greek Week stand out among all other universities."

"The clothing drive is another way for students to support the local community, and it continues to become more successful each year," said Zoë Patterson, Greek Week Director. "Events like the clothing drive, the blood drive, and the money raised reflects our fraternity and sorority members' desire to find and commit to more service-oriented events that impact our local community."

Greek Week concluded with the always popular Greek Sing. This event highlights the creativity and enthusiasm of our fraternity and sorority members. This year, many of our chapters partnered together to display their talents in skits that mixed fairytales, life on campus, and pop culture. The Greek Sing showcase is always a highlight of the week, and this year the team of Alpha Chi Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Phi Beta Sigma took home that top award with their Wizard of Oz theme.

The Other Greek Week events included the Greek Games, Walk-A-Mile Sexual Assault Awareness program, Greek Sing, God and Goddess Competition and various spirit and community service activities. With each event that is hosted throughout Greek Week, all chapters are given the opportunity to showcase their creativity, enthusiasm, and consistent efforts to better the Cape Girardeau community.

The following awards were presented during the week:

• University Five Star Sorority of the Year; Alpha Chi Omega
• University Five Star Fraternity of the Year; Sigma Nu
• Sorority Harm Reduction Award; Delta Delta Delta
• Fraternity Harm Reduction Award; Sigma Nu
• Sorority Chapter Management Award; Delta Delta Delta
• Fraternity Chapter Management Award; Sigma Nu
• Sorority Membership Development & Education Award; Alpha Chi Omega
• Fraternity Membership Development & Education Award; Sigma Nu
• Sorority Academic Achievement Award; Alpha Chi Omega
• Fraternity Academic Achievement Award; Sigma Tau Gamma
• Sorority Civic and Campus Engagement Award; Alpha Delta Pi
• Fraternity Civic and Campus Engagement Award; Lambda Chi Alpha

Greek Week 2024

• 1^st Place: Alpha Chi Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Phi Beta Sigma
• 2^nd Place: Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Phi Epsilon
• 3^rd Place: Gamma Phi Beta, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Theta Xi

Greek Sing 2024

• 1^st Place: Alpha Chi Omega, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Phi Beta Sigma
• 2^nd Place: Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Phi Epsilon
• 3^rd Place: Gamma Phi Beta, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Theta Xi

Order of Omega Greek Honor Society Awards

• Professor of the Year: William McNeary (Mathematics Department) and Emily Obergoenner (Communication Disorders Department)
• Advisor of the Year: Katie Krodinger (Sigma Nu) and Charlotte Seabaugh (Delta Delta Delta)
• Chapter President of the Year: Jason Steiner (Sigma Nu) and Isabela Greene (Delta Delta Delta)
• Individual Community Service: Luke Bell (Sigma Nu) and Jaden Dawe (Sigma Sigma Sigma)
• Unsung Heroine/Hero: Harland Bross (Sigma Nu) and Quinn Covlin (Alpha Delta Pi)
• New Member of the Year: Nick Brune (Sigma Nu) and Jenna Clark (Alpha Xi Delta)
• Sophomore of the Year: Nathan Lillard (Phi Delta Theta) and Sophia Ruffato (Alpha Xi Delta)
• Junior of the Year: Andrew Wildhaber (Sigma Nu) and Amariss Mueller (Delta Delta Delta)
• Greek Man & Woman of the Year: Brandon Vogt (Sigma Nu) and Addison McMahan (Alpha Delta Pi)