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At the Dunn County Food Pantry in Menomonie, Jon Hunter and Nick Pfundheller donate their earnings from the chili feed to the Food Pantry Coordinator Lana Anderson.

Fraternaties making a difference

Greek organizations prove to be valuable commodity to community

By: Rachael Lundeen

Posted: 1/28/10

All year long, fraternities on campus have been trying to make a difference within the community by raising money throughout the year for different organizations around town. One such fraternity is Chi Lambda. Although it may have developed a bad reputation in the past, it is all about changing its image and showing that it is really here to make Menomonie a better place. It is involved with many volunteering projects and spends a lot of its time helping out people in need. It is even trying to get other members of the community involved.

This semester, with Nick Pfundheller as the new president of Chi Lambda, there are a few things that he plans to do differently than in the past.

"I want to change our image on campus and present ourselves as gentlemen and show that we are getting good grades, are involved in extracurriculars and are supporting good causes around town. We really just want to get the word out there that we are here to help the community, help better other people and make a good impression," said Pfundheller.

Chi Lambda has put on numerous activities to raise money for Dunn County Food Pantry. Every year it has a chili feed, in which they invite students and members of the community. "We make the chili ourselves and sell it for $4 all you can eat. It's supporting a really good cause; and this year we had a really good turnout," said Pfundheller. This year was considered a great success for them due to the fact they raised over $500. "After how successful the chili feed was; it was just a great feeling for all the guys to know that we made a difference in the community," said member Jon Hunter.

"I think it went well because we had a better opportunity to market the event this year. We had posters made and then used Facebook to invite the students. This helped because then everyone knew where the proceeds were going and who they would be helping by coming," said Pfundheller.
"Chi Lambda's donation will buy an enormous amount of food for families in need. It will be roughly 400 meals that it provides," said Food Pantry Coordinator Lana Anderson. "When we purchase food through the food bank, the money donations are stretched times 10. It's because of groups like this that we are able to do this and keep our organization going."
There are many other ways in which Chi Lambda is helping out the community this semester. In April, its Milk Party will be taking place at the Chi Lambda house.

"This is where we invite all members of the community to come to our house for milk and cookies. We are doing this because we just wanted to have a social gathering where everyone can learn about where we came from and what we support, while sticking to our roots of being the dry fraternity on campus," said Pfundheller. It also participates in Adopt-a-Yard. This is where elderly members in the surrounding area sign up to have their yards taken care of.

"We basically rake and help prepare for winter and help them do the things they can't do anymore," said Pfundheller.
Another way it is helping is by adopting a highway. Twice a semester it helps clean up Highway 25 south of Menomonie. "We just try to get out there and make it more presentable to the community," said Pfundheller.

Fundraising will continue to take place until the end of the year, the members will be organizing a 5K run. The entry fees and donations will again be donated to the Dunn County Food Pantry. There has also been talk of a possible food drive.
"Food drives are nice because it provides us with a little bit of variety," said Anderson.

"My favorite part of doing this kind of stuff is just being able to know that we are helping people in need. It's such a good feeling, and it helps me sleep good at night," said Hunter.
The Chi Lambda fraternity is making a concerted effort to make a good impression on the campus and throughout the community. Its upcoming events will be posted on Facebook if anyone is interested in learning more about what they are doing and how to get involved.