The empty patch of land on the 800 block of 17th Street in Newark doesn't look like much, at least not yet. "Right now it's got a gate up, and an abandoned car I believe belongs to the neighbors," said Tosin Oduwole, a member of the Kean University chapter of Iota Phi Theta. "It looks like an empty lot, but we see what it can be, and that's what we're working to turn it into."

Oduwole and his fraternity brothers are the new owners of that empty lot, as of about two weeks ago. They pooled their funds and purchased the property through Newark's Valentine Day land sale, which offered vacant lots to couples for $1,000 each. On their lot, the college students plan to build a house not for themselves, but for a homeless family they've never met, who'll be able to live there rent-free. The fraternity does community service projects annually, but wanted to do something different from their typical bake sales or food and clothing drives this year, Oduwole said. "We were trying to think of something that would be more of a lasting effect," he said. "If you provide coats for a winter, after that winter is done, it's a fleeting effect."

Fraternity members developed the idea after hearing about the land sale, and reached out to the Sierra House, an East Orange nonprofit that works with homeless women and families. They explained their idea and that they wanted to offer the home to a family housed in the organization's transitional shelter. Sierra House staff found a family to connect with the fraternity. Oduwole described the home's future residents as a single mother, working a part-time job, and her two children. "We thought she would be the best person we could help, someone who is trying to support a family," Oduwole said. The family and the fraternity brothers plan to meet this weekend, to introduce themselves and talk plans.

Iota Phi Theta members hope to build a two-family home on the lot, offering one unit to the family that's now in the Sierra House and renting out the other. The rental income, Oduwole said, will be put toward the utilities and other bills for the currently homeless family.

Oduwole and his girlfriend formally purchased the lot, waiting in line at the first-come-first served event. He said they got one of the last few of the 100 available properties and were able to get a green light for the plan from city officials. The fraternity is now in the process of getting their site plan approved and has been making visits to the land with a contractor. They've picked out plans for a prefabricated home with a price tag of $95,360, and have launched an online campaign to raise money. Once the funds are in, Oduwole said it would take around 12 days to build the house, allowing for the family to move in shortly after. He envisions the house build as "a huge community event," with help from other students, police officers and military members who have already expressed interest in lending a hand.

So far, the Iota Phi Theta members' goal has been earning a lot of support from their fellow Kean students, Oduwole said. "They're very energetic," Oduwole said. "On our campus right now, everybody's excited. It's an opportunity for our fraternity and our campus to show Greek life is not only about partying." (excerpted from the Newark Star Ledger for educational purposes; byline Katie Lannan)

San Diego State’s Phi Kappa Theta fraternity broke the university’s record for the most community service hours completed by an organization in a single semester. Once the University verifies all hours, the fraternity will have earned a total of 3,025 hours last semester. Phi Kappa Theta was involved in a variety of community service events, such as feeding the homeless on Wednesdays and Thursdays, completing a breast cancer awareness walk, volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, hosting a dodge ball tournament to raise money for charity, and participating in beach cleanups.

Alex Shapiro, a political science sophomore and community service chair of Phi Kappa Theta, led the fraternity to break the university’s record. He said one of his favorite memories came from volunteering at the homeless shelter one night when a group of his fraternity brothers decided to walk around the block and bring extra food to those who could not make it to the homeless shelter. There they met a man named Tony who began to tear up as he told the young men about his life. “He had a really interesting life story and it moved us all,” Shapiro said. “I remember one fraternity brother in the circle actually started crying. We asked if there was any way we could help him and all he wanted was a sleeping bag, so we brought him one the next time that we saw him.”

He said he looked forward to events such as feeding the homeless and working with the Boys and Girls Club because he was able to interact directly with the people he was helping. He said those experiences were humbling because it made him realize that his problems were not as serious as those other people are experiencing.

Shapiro said his passion for giving back to the community sparked at a young age when his father would bring him along to various events such as the Special Olympics when he was three years old. In high school, Shapiro volunteered at a Relay for Life event in which he met a boy, Kevin, who was battling cancer at the time. A few years later Kevin lost his battle to cancer. Shapiro said the experience become a huge motivation for him to get involved in the community and give back to the less fortunate. This semester Shapiro plans to encourage the Phi Kappa Theta members to continue their heavy involvement in community service. He says a big part of keeping up the momentum is making the events enjoyable and getting as many people involved as possible.

Executive Vice President of the national Phi Kappa Theta fraternity Robert Riggs said he is delighted to hear that Phi Kappa Theta members at SDSU completed a record number of community service hours. “We are extremely proud of their accomplishment,” Riggs said. “To be a leader in the community in such a positive way is a great achievement. At the same time, it is humbling to know how committed these men are to serving others.” (excerpted from the Daily Aztec for educational purposes; byline: Colleen Larson)