UC nursing student unites Greek life for tornado relief

Holland, a sophomore in UC's College of Nursing, started small by setting aside some of her own belongings and asking for donations from family and friends. But she wanted to make a bigger impact, so around Christmastime, she reached out to Matthew: 25 Ministries, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit that collects and distributes donations worldwide, offering humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The organization already had deployed a volunteer team to Kentucky to bring much-needed products and services to victims.

"They told me everything they need," Holland said. This includes cleaning supplies, first-aid items, personal care and paper products and more, along with monetary donations.

From there, Holland began contacting her fellow Chi Omega sorority sisters and alumnae, who agreed to step up and help. "And then," Holland says, "I brainstormed and thought, Every chapter loves a good competition, so I went to see if I could get others involved." She invited all UC Greek organizations to compete to collect donations. The chapter that raises the most money will receive a grant from the College Panhellenic Council, the governing body of UC sororities, to put toward annual philanthropy week fundraisers.

As of late-January, eight fraternities and six sororities at UC had agreed to participate. Holland plans to accept items and monetary donations through early February and then use the dollars collected to purchase goods to take to Matthew: 25 Ministries to distribute.

Beyond helping the victims of December's tornados, Holland hopes her work and the support from sororities and fraternities across the university shines a positive light on Greek life.

"Greek life has gotten a bad rap throughout the years," she says. "You don't see many stories about the positive work they're doing in the community, but at the heart of every single member of each chapter, we all have one goal: to help other people."

Along with Chi Omega, participating UC sororities include:

• Delta Delta Delta
• Gamma Phi Beta
• Kappa Delta
• Kappa Kappa Gamma
• Pi Beta Phi

Participating UC fraternities include:

• Beta Theta Phi
• Delta Tau Delta
• Pi Kappa Alpha
• Pi Kappa Phi
• Pi Kappa Tau
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• Sigma Chi
• Theta Chi