UC's Greek Week Is More Than Just Fun And Games

Let the games begin. Chariot races, coney-eating contests, cornhole and Napoleon Dynamite will all highlight Greek Week at the University of Cincinnati. But amid all the fun is a serious goal to grant the wishes of two Cincinnati children who are battling leukemia.

“This is a week in which all of the members of UC’s Greek social organizations can come together in friendly competition and unite as a community,” says Andrew Lebensburger of West Chester, the UC Greek Week President and member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. “It is also a very large philanthropic event. Last year, we had set a goal to raise $5,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we reached $11,000. So, we’re going with the $11,000 goal this year,” says the UC senior finance and marketing major.

Fund-raising for Make-A-Wish started with a letter-writing campaign. The UC Greek organizations are raising money to grant the wish of five-year-old Emily and 12-year-old Ryan. Both children have expressed a wish to go to Disney World.

Vicki Marsala, program coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life, says last year UC’s Greek organizations raised a total of $31,133 to benefit philanthropies and contributed more than 13,359 hours of community service. She says there are 1,105 students who belong to UC’s 19 fraternities and 11 sororities, and that those members are also involved in more than 80 percent of all UC student organizations. Many of them are leaders in the campus community, including Student Body President Justin Shafer (Sigma Phi Epsilon), Student Body Vice President Ben Hines (Sigma Chi) and Senior Class President Drew McKenzie (Beta Theta Pi).

UC�s Greek Week Is More Than Just Fun And Games