Samford’s Alpha Eta chapter of national fraternity Pi Kappa Phi has raised $88,351.19 for local nonprofit Unless U, breaking the university’s record of amount fundraised for a philanthropy. Landon Kight, Pi Kappa Phi philanthropy chairman and Micah Fellow, led the project alongside representatives from Unless U and Meals to Missions, another nonprofit that specializes in assisting Greek chapters as a fundraising partner.
Meals to Missions Director of Greek Partnerships Amanda Carmichael assisted Kight in organizing the fraternity’s main fundraising events.
“They [Pi Kappa Phi] had a lot of vision and heart of their own,” said Carmichael. “We coached them through the process, gave them tools and resources, but really it was their leadership that led to their success.”
As the kick-off of their eight-week fundraising effort, Pi Kappa Phi hosted a text-a-thon among their brothers with the help of Meals to Missions. By the end of the first hour, the fraternity had raised $25,000, an amount that shocked Kight, but one that Meals to Missions expected.
“I set our initial goal at $25,000… then Meals To Missions kept pushing us like, ‘We really think you have a strong leadership team and, from what it sounds like, a strong brotherhood’,” said Kight. “Then by the time we got to the end of our campaign, they’re like, ‘Y’all should do $65,000, I think y’all can do it’. And you know what? Why not shoot for the stars?”
On October 9, members of Pi Kappa Phi joined students at Unless U on their campus to package 10,000 meals for Meals to Missions, giving the brothers an opportunity to get to know the students that their funds directly affect.
Unless U specializes in offering adults with disabilities a college campus to grow “academically, socially, spiritually and vocationally,” according to Marketing and Development Director Marye Grace Saurmann.
The packing party helped acquaint brothers of Pi Kappa Phi to their local philanthropy.
“The packaging was awesome. It gave them [the students] a sense of purpose. It gave us a sense of purpose as well,” said Kight.
Carmichael agreed.
“I’ve done many, many packing parties, but it was very notable, just the sweetness of this one,” said Carmichael.
Kight hopes that Pi Kappa Phi continues to do good through their philanthropy for years to come.
“My hope is each year that we continue to partner with Meals To Missions, we keep breaking the record,” said Kight. “I don’t want this record to stand for much longer, since I want our guys to actually break it.”
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