Greeks giving back to community for Earth Day

Greeks will come together this Saturday — not to party, not to compete, but to give back to the community.

On April 12 the University of Miami’s Greek community will hold its second annual Greek Earth Day, a service event in which fraternity and sorority members help restore and maintain the environmental health of the surrounding area.

During the day-long event, members of the university’s Greek organizations will be divided into small groups and visit various sites around Miami. The sites, which are all outdoors, include a veteran’s home, the Miami River and Kendall Indian Hammocks Park.

Greek Earth Day was founded by senior Evan Gilead of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Yadira Garcia of Alpha Delta Pi.

“This is a way for us to increase inter-fraternal bonds,” said Gilead, an executive chair for this year’s event. “We all have our separate community service events, but this one is for the whole community.”

Junior Coleen Busby, the other executive chair, said that the volunteering would help counter negative stereotypes that people have about Greeks.

“This [will] be a great way for us to show that we care about our community, and that we’re not just concerned with our own social affairs,” Busby, a member of Delta Gamma, said

Participants of Greek Earth Day will be meeting April 12 at 8:30 a.m., in the UC Lower Lounge. Any Greek organization is welcome to come on the day of the event. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. For more information, contact Evan Gilead at 404-272-1347 or Coleen Busby at 201-259-3973.

Ashley Calloway may be contacted at a.calloway@umiami.edu.

University’s green initatives:

A bike campaign is planned for next semester to encourage students to drive less and save gas. Students will be able to purchase a bicycle for much less than the regular store prices. “We are looking at providing $50 bikes with free locks,” Alan Fish, vice president of Business Services, said.