Following the murder of George Floyd, William Jewell College’s chapter, Zeta Phi, of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity (FIJI) organized a fundraiser for the Southern Poverty Law Center and We Love Lake Street and is also creating a new inclusion committee within the fraternity to start in fall 2020. In the letter to The Hilltop Monitor, written on behalf of the Zeta Phi chapter of FIJI, Jamie Briscoe, senior chemistry major, and Jack Still, senior economics and political science major, describe the decisions and the conversations that ultimately led the fraternity to act.

In the weeks that followed George Floyd’s tragic death, the members of our House looked on with both consternation and pride as protesters flooded the streets in support of racial justice. The distress, pain and grief seen on the face of each protester served as a reminder of America’s long history of transgressions against people of color. But, at the same time, the unity and desire for progress displayed through these peaceful demonstrations deeply inspired us just as they have moved leaders elsewhere across the country to initiate change. 

Like many others in the Jewell community, we began seeking out both individual and collective opportunities to lend our efforts to the cause. Some of us attended peaceful protests right here in Kansas City, while others donated to anti-racist organizations leading efforts to combat hatred and discrimination. 

One thing, however, was clear: our brotherhood – along with the rest of Greek Life and the Jewell student body – demonstrated a willingness to take a stand against racism that has not been seen at such a scale before. It has become evident that our generation will bear the responsibility of finally delivering true equality to all people without regard for their race. And, if the actions taken by Jewell students and young people across the country are any indication of our ability to successfully do so, we have tremendous faith. 

It will take sustained and committed action from those who benefit most from the status quo. We must all be willing to exchange our current comfort and privilege for a type of progress that, in the end, frees us all from the unforgiving burden of systemic racism. Here at the Zeta Phi chapter, we believe that Greek Life everywhere has a substantial and unique role to play in fighting for racial equality in communities across the United States. 

That is why we followed the lead of many sororities and fraternities nationwide, releasing an official statement attesting to the ways in which our values commit each member of our brotherhood to anti-racism. After a few days, though, we began to realize that it would not be sufficient for us to only vocalize our collective stance outwardly into the community. 

Our chapter understands that if we truly hope to make an impact at such a pivotal moment in history, and to achieve a greater level of understanding and acceptance within our own brotherhood, it is necessary that we also look to do our part in serving worthy causes and striving to make the required changes internally. 

As a start, we have created a fundraiser to support both the Southern Poverty Law Center – a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that aims to expose hate groups and provide education on tolerance – and We Love Lake Street – a charity seeking to rebuild and reopen small businesses affected by the death of George Floyd. Our chapter plans to match every donation made to this Go Fund Me fundraiser up to $1000. The total amount raised will then be split between these two causes. It is our hope that members of the community at Jewell will chip in what they have and share our efforts to reach as many people as possible. 

At the beginning of the fall semester, we also plan to introduce a brand new inclusion committee dedicated to maintaining a healthy and welcoming atmosphere in our House. The history of racial discrimination, homophobia and other forms of exclusion is a story that is all too familiar for Greek Life. Zeta Phi hopes to work with our fellow members of Greek Life and the entire community at Jewell to permanently end this trend and place fraternities and sororities at the forefront of the fight for equality. 

Donate to the fundraiser using this link.

“I didn’t realize what I wanted to do, which I want to stay in the nonprofit sector, that’s what I want for my career path,” Snider said. “I didn’t realize that until my senior year or like halfway through my junior year even so I really had no time to kind of take advantage of all the nonprofit that William Jewell offers.”

Despite this, Snider is still successfully working for a nonprofit. She began working in resource development at KC Mothers in Charge, a nonprofit that focuses on helping families of homicide victims in the Kansas City metro area and violence prevention, in June 2018.

Snider writes grants for the nonprofit and has also taken on some other office tasks.

“It includes a lot of donor management and relationships with donors, so just making sure that they know we appreciate them and making sure they get their tax receipts and tax deductions,” Snider said.

She feels that her time at Jewell helped prepared her to write grant proposals – an important source of funding for any nonprofit.

“It prepared me for grant writing because the English major is extremely hard and extremely writing intensive,” Snider said. “Then I also dabbled in a lot of philosophy which is more writing and more reading comprehension so that definitely prepared me.”

KC Mothers in Charge recently received a $5,000 grant. It was the first grant that Snider had worked on. She spoke of what a proud moment that was for her.

“It was the first grant that I found, I researched it, I talked to the organization so it was kind of my baby,” said Snider. “We got the full amount and they also sent me an email that was like ‘yours was the best written, it was highly ranked, we have no questions’ which never happens. I was super pumped so that was rewarding.”

Snider says the grant writing process is very different from what she had expected.

“It’s a lot of question and answer, like what needs are you addressing and what’s your demographic and why are you so important, what differentiates you from other people who are doing something similar. So a lot of it is really knowing what your organization does, like every little bit and piece because the other half is knowing your funder,” Snider said. “So if your funder is like ‘hey, we really focus on violence prevention’ I can say ‘well here’s what we really do with violence prevention amongst all this other stuff.’ Just kind of angling it in a way that shines a light on what they want to find.”

Funders come in the form of different foundations. Some of these foundations are wealthy families and others are businesses.

“You’d actually be surprised at how many businesses and random places have foundations,” Snider said. “Firehouse Subs has a foundation, State Farm has a foundation, Walmart has a foundation, Sprint has a foundation.”

Snider believes that communication with funders is a vital step towards receiving a grant.

“Even if you only talk them once, or even if you email once it’s very important to say ‘hey this is what we do, is this advisable to ask for’  just so that you kind of form that bridge,” Snider said. “Then when they’re going over your grant they can say ‘oh, they reached out, they wanted to know what we were interested in, they really wanted to make a connection.’ It’s a relationship and it’s really understanding each other, which I did not expect.”

Working for KC Mothers in Charge is a way for Snider to combine her writing skills with her passion for helping people. Mothers in Charge was started in Philadelphia by a mother who lost her son to homicide. The Kansas City chapter was established in 2014 after Rosalyn Temple, executive director of KC Mothers in Charge, lost her son.

Snider represented KC Mothers in Charge at the University of Missouri Kansas City criminal justice career expo, Oct. 17.

Anytime there is a homicide in the Kansas City metro area the Kansas City Police Department dispatches a “Mother” – a woman from Mothers in Charge who has lost a child to homicide – to the scene. They help families through their grief and can provide financial and emotional support.

“They help them with the funeral, they help them understand why it takes so long to hear back from the police or hear back about an autopsy. We can also help financially with funeral assistance or if they need food,” Snider says.

The organization also focuses on proactively preventing violence.

“We go to prisons and speak there to the offenders about the impact of violence on families. We also do a lot of canvassing. We did a canvassing event I think a year or two ago where they distributed gun locks,” Snider said. “We also work to make sure that the community kind of is understanding how they have to help each other, like if they see something suspicious at their neighbors house they need to call the police. So kind of taking responsibility for the safety of their neighborhoods.”

There were 149 homicides in Kansas City in 2017.  Fifty-eight percent of those homicide victims were African American males. There have been 112 homicides this year – down from 126 at this point last year.

Speaking to the family members of these victims is something that makes an impact on both the family and the employees.

“It’s very impactful to hear from them what they are going through and how much it means to them that we are calling and checking on them,” Snider said. “They’re like ‘It may not seem like much, but it’s nice to know I’m going to get this phone call every week so that I do have a check-in.’”

Snider’s advice for Jewell students wanting to go into a career in the nonprofit sector is to take advantage of the Nonprofit Leadership Association and to have an idea of how your skills and interests fit in with nonprofits.

“Know what kind of nonprofit you want to do – do you want to service humans, do you want to service animals, do you want to service the environment?” Snider said. “Then also know what are you good at. I’m good with writing, I’m not good with people, so clearly I don’t want to be on the front lines, but if you are good with people or you are good with marketing you got to sort of find that angle because there’s all different parts of the non profit that you can do.”

Working for a nonprofit is a great way to both make a living and earn benefits worth more than a salary. Snider spoke about this balance.

“A huge thing that deterred me was the money aspect, like ‘nonprofit– does that mean I don’t get paid?’ That’s not what it means,” Snider said. “I am way happier in nonprofit than I would be at something that pays a lot of money.”

Photos provided by Rae Snider

“We have a very intentional ethic of service to others that is a part of the ethos of our campus,” said Dr. Jeff Buscher, college chaplain and service coordinator.

Last year alone, Jewell students completed 60,814 hours of service. With over 800 students, that means an average of 75 hours of community service completed per person. While this number is down from the 71,958 hours of service in the 2016-2017 school year, the philanthropic passion at Jewell is staggering.

The majority of these service hours are accrued through the efforts of co-curricular organizations – such as Greek Life and the Nonprofit Leadership Association (NLA) – and the College’s commitment to service learning.

While the college itself cannot officially sponsor any specific charities, many organizations around campus do. Among the most active in philanthropy are members of Greek Life. Each fraternity and sorority plans events throughout the year to raise awareness and monetary support for causes they are passionate about. The causes supported include Harvesters Food Bank, Ronald McDonald House, Bikers Against Child Abuse, and breast cancer research and education.

Around 40 percent of Jewell students are involved in Greek Life, guaranteeing that portion of the student body to be engaged in philanthropy in some way. On any given day, there is likely to be at least one fraternity or sorority raising money in the Yates-Gill College Union or out in the community cleaning up highways.

NLA is also responsible for a large portion of the service hours recorded. The club, aligned with the nonprofit leadership studies major, is involved in numerous service projects across campus and beyond – including the American Red Cross Club and the Skip-a-Meal program where students can opt to donate one meal on their meal plan per week to food pantries across the city.

The club says they are “committed to making a significant difference in the lives of community members.”

Much of the service hours counted can also be attributed to the Pryor Leadership Program. As part of their Pryor Legacy Project, Pryor Fellows complete a project they are passionate about that benefits the community. Past legacy projects include building tiny houses for the homeless and the creation of the Tucker Leadership Lab.

Philanthropy at Jewell also extends past the school year. Every January and May since 2005, undergraduates, as well as staff and alumni, travel to Honduras as parts of the Village Partners Program. They grant micro-loans for members of the local community to invest in the local economy. Groups also raise money to improve water quality and infrastructure, build community gardens and provide access to medical and dental care.

William Jewell College students on a service trip to Honduras in 2017.

The Village Partners program has expanded in recent years. In 2017, two students traveled to Thailand to create on solar energy workshop. Nursing students have also gone to Zambia to provide medical care to underserved communities.

“[Service learning experiences] expand students’ world view and makes them better global citizens,” Buscher said.

A spirit of service is also ingrained in Jewell traditions. Since the 1980s, students have participated in the annual Serve and Celebrate the weekend before homecoming week. This year, 150 undergraduates volunteered for more than a dozen charities across the city.  

The College also hosts the annual Jewell Day of Service in the spring to continue with the spirit of giving into the second semester. The event, which started in 2010, is yet another opportunity to Jewell students to go out in the community and serve others.

At both Serve and Celebrate and Jewell Day of Service, participants often do maintenance work the charities do not have the time to do, such as repainting or cleaning. This allows the charities to focus on keeping up the great work they do.

“It is assumed that being a contributing, thoughtful member of society implies that you will roll up your sleeves and volunteer or contribute in some way to make your community a better place,” says Buscher.

Over the past few years, students have recorded volunteer hours at almost 15 organizations – including Habitat Restore, Hillcrest Hope apartments, Immaculata Manor, Jewish vocational services and Ernest Shepherd Youth Center.

An emphasis of philanthropy is a cornerstone of the Jewell community and is exhibited twice a year at the biannual Service Learning Fair, a campus-wide event at which students from all disciplines may volunteer to serve in the Greater Kansas City area.

Pictures courtesy of Kristen Agar and Jeff Buscher

“It’s a good throwback to [LCA] tradition. We tried pumpkins, but this is just better, it’s tradition,” said Zak Carroll, senior Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy and international relations major and LCA member, of the event.

In addition to smashing watermelons, LCA offered the opportunity to hit apples with baseball bats, play football and play volleyball. The non-smashing activities were popular, but the iconic watermelon busts were the highlights.

Senior business administration and ACT-In major and LCA member Sutton Porth pitches an apple to senior biochemistry major and LCA member Chris Seward.

The apple busts.

“We’re running out of melons because brothers just don’t know how to stop,” said Ian McBride, junior biochemistry, political science and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major, only an hour into the event as destroying the watermelons was already such a hit.

Senior nursing major and LCA member Nicholas Bromley busts a watermelon with a baseball bat.

Senior nursing major and LCA member Nicholas Bromley is propelled backward by the sheer force of the bust.

Despite a one week weather-based delay, the event was a smashing success. Watermelon Bust was originally planned for Friday Sept. 7, but persistent rain led the organizers of the event to postpone it one week.

Due to the delay,  LCA extended the donation portion of the event. For the two weeks before the event, LCA set up a table in the Yates-Gill Union and accepted both monetary and non-perishable food donations.

Donations will be sent to Harvesters community food network, a subsidiary of the philanthropy with which LCA affiliates, Feeding America.

The donation drive kept track of which on-campus organizations donated the most and will donate a portion of the money raised to a charity of the winning organization’s choice.

Zeta Tau Alpha donated the most money at $256 and Alpha Delta Pi donated the second most at over $200. Contributions from the two-week drive totaled over $1000 and netted over $550.

“[I]t was personally inspiring to see the Jewell community come together to support our cause. We receive donations from all Greek life, along with theater, cheer team and the drumline –along with independents of course,” said Chris Seward, senior biochemistry major and director of LCA’s philanthropic efforts. “To see organizations that normally don’t support events, come out and support our philanthropy and unify for a better cause was truly special.”

Harvesters accepts donations year-round for people in need. Their most needed items are listed here.

Photos by Christina Kirk.