“It’s stuff that’s so simple, but not everyone gets,” says Kevin Bachar, a senior fraternity brother from the University of San Fransisco. They’re building an playground shaped like a train and redecorating a sensory room for the campers. “If you take a look around this camp, there’s a ton of amazing kids, and they have every right to go out and have an amazing summer just like everybody else,” says Jesse Hare, a sophomore fraternity brother from the University of Oklahoma.
Not only did they volunteer six weeks of their summer, they also had to raise $4,000 per student to participate in the service trip, known as Build America. “It started off a little slow, I’m not going to lie, but with all the generous support from family, friends, alumni, members from the chapter,” says Kevin Lindgren, a sophomore fraternity brother from Bradley University. “I also did a bake sale too.” The money goes to people with disabilities, like those at Camp Wawbeek. Beyond the building, they’re learning what it means to make connections. “The lives of the campers and camp counselors who we’ve met impact our lives a lot more than we ever give back to them,” says Bachar.
They also hope this could help dispel negative stereotypes. “What we’re here doing especially here in the state of Wisconsin really, really exemplifies what it means not only to be a member of Pi Kappa Phi, but really just means to be a Greek student,” says Hare. “Whenever you say that you’re in a fraternity, people always just have that negative impact like, oh well I guess all that you’re interested in is partying and drinking,” adds Lindgren. “But…we always have that desire and that passion to go and serve in our community.”