On Saturday, Oct. 13, the PennWest California chapter of the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority headed to a Washington County shelter to volunteer with some of their members. This is a part of their mission as well as California Greek Life’s mission as a whole to provide philanthropic services to the community.
Amber Zitney, a member since spring 2023, remarked on her previous experiences volunteering at the shelter.
“When we go, we can cuddle with the cats and dogs, walk the dogs, clean up their kennels, fold blankets, clean up fans, throw away expired food and organize the food on the shelf, and paint the kennels,” said Zitney. “When I was there last year, I also put this tarp back on this fence that fell down from a storm they had.”
The Angel Ridge Animal Rescue is the chapter’s local shelter philanthropy. According to chapter president Jayme Heffern, the chapter makes it a priority to visit at least once per semester.
Along with the shelter, the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation’s philanthropic cause is School and College Readiness. Chapters work with Title I schools by providing resources for students to succeed both in and outside the classroom.
The PennWest Epsilon Tau chapter partners with the nearby California Area Elementary School.
Each year, the chapter makes sure the school has everything they need before classes start and even donate during the school year as well, according to Zitney.
“We give them school supplies, we make them bookmarks, and just this Tuesday we made thank-you cards for the teachers,” said Zitney.
The chapter is working on a plan to return to the school before the end of the fall semester.
“We are trying to work with SPSEA to host a bingo event at California Elementary for the families in the community,” said Heffern, regarding their upcoming philanthropic activities with the chapter’s partner school.
The SPSEA is PennWest California’s chapter of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association, helping future educators develop professionally.
In the past, the chapter has paired with the PennWest chapter of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) where they held a Thanksgiving drive for non-perishable items that they donated to the California community this past Fall.
The chapter also paired with Sigma Kappa for their yearly Penny Wars that helped raise money for Alzheimer’s research according to Heffern.
Philanthropy is a key aspect of Greek life, giving both sororities and fraternities a chance to support their communities as well as give members a sense of personal fulfillment.
“It is the main reason I chose to join my sorority—because of the way to help animals and the community,” Zitney said.
