Recent months’ events have cast a shadow on the University of Nevada’s Greek community. Disciplinary actions for a couple of chapters have left the altruistic actions of the many as a story that doesn’t reach the general community. One such act is when fraternities and sororities learned of a University student who was a single mother and having difficulty affording a safe daycare for her child and continuing her education. Associate Dean of Students, Dr. Marcelo Vazques, asked the Greek community for their help. Greeks rushed to the single mother’s aid and raised the money needed to pay for daycare.

“After much hard work and heart ache I thought I was going to have to drop out of school in my last semester due to losing my job and the means to pay for daycare. The bills piled up and I was unable to pay daycare expenses,” the single mother said. “After I had written email after email asking for help, the fraternities and sororities stepped up and payed for the rest of the few weeks of daycare I was in school. I am incredibly grateful to them for doing this.”

Greek organizations are founded on the principles of love and community – characteristics that have not been publicly highlighted in previous months. Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Alpha Tau Omega fundraised the money for this single mother. Nationally, it’s estimated that undergraduate Greeks raise more than $7 million annually.