Wittenberg鈥檚 Beta Theta Pi fraternity recently hosted a two-week-long school supply drive from April 18-29 for Hayward Middle School as its philanthropy project.
The idea to give to Hayward, a middle school in the Springfield City School District, came from fellow Beta brother, Jacob Durmis, class of 2023 from Corry, Pennsylvania, who completed his community service for Wittenberg at the school.
Members of the fraternity collected school supplies, backpacks, paper, writing utensils, art supplies, hygiene supplies, and other items for Hayward students.
鈥淲e are thankful to give back to the Wittenberg community,鈥� said Nick Brown, class of 2024, from Fairborn, Ohio, and vice president of philanthropy for Beta Theta Pi. 鈥淚t felt great to see the smiles on the faces of the administrators at Hayward Middle School. I鈥檓 glad we could fill a need in our community and I鈥檓 thankful to our great University for helping us!鈥�
Fraternity members placed drop-off boxes in Hollenbeck Hall, Blair Hall, the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center, and the Benham-Pence Student Center. Professors and students were contacted to contribute.
鈥淲ith it being later in the semester, we were able to receive new and barely used items from students and professors,鈥� said Jonathan Golden, class of 2024, from Weirton, West Virginia, and vice president of recruitment for Beta Theta Pi. 鈥淥n the behalf of the fraternity, we donated $400 in supplies ourselves. When donating to Hayward, they were really pleased and impressed with the number of items and our overall contribution. As a fraternity, one of our main values is intellectual growth and service. We saw this as a great opportunity since growing really starts with the schools before college.鈥�
Beta Theta Pi has been at Wittenberg since 1867 and always looks to support the Springfield community through its manpower, organizational skills, and financial contributions.
