Fraternities and sororities in the National Pan-Hellenic Council have orchestrated a day of service to give back to the University and the community of Tuscaloosa. They will be volunteering at four locations around campus to assist the elderly, children who are victims of domestic abuse and the uninsured.
This is the first time a community service project of this caliber has been undertaken by the NPHC. The service day was planned and organized by Xavier Burgin, president of the NPHC and Maceo Caudle, the vice president of the NPHC.
“We have four different community service locations we’ll be doing service for,” Caudle said. “Morning Pointe Assisted Living Center, The Good Samaritan Clinic of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa One Place and West Alabama Boys’ and Girls’ Club.”
Teresia Greer, coordinator of greek affairs, said that around 200 to 250 people have officially signed up to participate in the NPHC’s Day of Service.
According to Burgin, NPHC members and non-greek members haven’t stopped signing up for slots to volunteer.
“We wanted as many people involved as possible,” Burgin said. “We had eight originally, so we decided to get the word out and get everybody together to volunteer.”
Burgin said students and organizations alike were incredibly eager to participate and volunteer.
“This project is meant to show that people do not have to just do stuff separately,” Burgin said. “We can have non-greek students participate in the philanthropic work of the greek system.
“We start with the NPHC greek organization to reach out to the public and expand outward once we get our community service message out,” he said. “We’re trying to expand outward to other organizations because they got a lot of volunteers.”
Burgin foresees taking the service day further to a wider span of people. He wanted to express his gratitude to any student who volunteered for the NPHC’s Day Of Service.
Morning Pointe Assisted Living Center is a home for the elderly that specializes in care for senior citizens with Alzheimer’s. The Good Samaritan Clinic offers “healthcare with a heart” and provides a range of services to patients who do not have health insurance or coverage for their condition.
Tuscaloosa One Place is an outreach service center for lower income families in Tuscaloosa, protecting children from domestic abuse and providing assistance with medical care. West Alabama Boys’ and Girls’ Club provides after-school activities and guidance for young people’s future decisions.
