Furman Pi Kappa Phi Members Serve Greenville Community on MLK Day of Service

By Patrick Fretwell

On frigid January Mondays off from classes, getting two or three more hours of sleep sounds wonderful.

But Furman Pi Kappa Phis, along with members of the Upstate, made an impact this Monday morning that was wonderful.

“A fraternity needs to be built upon service,” Riley Taylor, a brother of Pi Kappa Phi said. “It’s a good way for people to bond and bring people from different communities together.”

Brothers and Associate Members of Delta Chapter served the Greenville community in the annual MLK Day of Service, a campus-wide tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the good works he preached on a daily basis. Some of the organizations that members of Delta Chapter helped were Bruntontown Community Center, St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, and the YMCA.

“I think today’s definitely shown the camaraderie and unity between the local Greenville community as well as with Furman as a whole,” Addison Smith, an associate member of Pi Kappa Phi, said. Smith also noted that this was an excellent day to bond with the 25 new members of the Alpha Eta pledge class.

At St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church, members of Pi Kappa Phi restored a nearby cemetery by clearing out trash and debris and recovering lost tombstones.

 “Words are inadequate. They’re just inadequate to say how grateful we are for everyone assembled here,” Reverend Brenda J. Thomas said.

Thomas is a pastor at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church and was pleased to see the amount of growth the community made in just a few hours.

“You answered the call. We care so much that Furman’s Pi Kappa Phi helped with our system.”

Today’s events displayed values such as unity, selflessness, and faith in the people you surround yourself with that Martin Luther King Jr. stood for.

And, according to Reverend Thomas, it’s even a little more than solely those values.

“We now have a new family with Furman.”