Sigma Chi member Austin Gilmore said he was concerned about the poverty rate in Bloomington.
Almost 40 percent of Bloomington residents live below the poverty line, with the average median household income being $27,395, according to the U.S. Census in 2013.
In response to this, IU Interfraternity Council organization Greeks Give Back plans on teaming up with nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity to start building homes for the poor community, said Gilmore, who is also president of Greeks Give Back.
Greeks Give Back is an organization formed by Sigma Chi at the Balfour Leadership Training Workshop, he said, which is Sigma Chi’s premier leadership training workshop.
Once Greeks Give Back reaches its expected fundraising mark March 15, Gilmore said that they will commence building the house after spring break and before Little 500.
Gilmore said he was responsible for coming up with the idea of pairing up with the Habitat for Humanity Club at IU.
Vice president of Greeks Give Back Chase Dickinson said both organizations are determined to give back to the Bloomington community.
“We both have the same goals, so we have been working closely with them and talked about working on getting funds together and sharing ideas,” Dickinson said.
In order to accomplish this, Gilmore said he plans on sponsoring and fundraising a “full house build” for a needy family in Bloomington, which he said will be one of the first completely student-run house builds in the history of IU.
Greeks Give Back is raising $70,000 for the cause, Gilmore said. Since last semester, about half of these expenses have already been raised by the organization.
Greeks Give Back’s 40 members are divided into three committees: communication, coordination and fundraising. Each member is responsible for contributing $500, while the executive board member of Greeks Give Back is obligated to raise $750.
On top of this, Gilmore said Greeks Give Back has about 20 fraternity and sorority chapters who have pledged their assistance to the cause. Fraternities and sororities such as Sigma Chi, Phi Sigma Kappa and Alpha Omicron Pi have become “partner houses,” who have dedicated more fundraising for the cause.
Greeks Give Back has also been receiving support from local businesses like Motel 6, Aver’s Pizza and BuffaLouies, Gilmore said.
“The support has been overwhelming,” he said. “It’s really great to see IU come together for this cause.”
However, Gilmore said he doesn’t want the building of the house to be a one-time deal.
“We’d honestly like to make this an every-semester thing to build a house for Habitat,” he said.
While the house will essentially be manually built by members of Greeks Give Back, as well as the family who wants the house, Gilmore said the option to help build will be open to the public and IU students.
The family acquiring the house will pay no profit mortgage for the home, but they will earn the house through what Gilmore refers to as “sweat equity.”
“The people who live in these houses deserve to live there,” he said. “They’ve done a lot of work, and they show growth.”
