Community Service/Philanthropy

Community service and philanthropy are essential parts of what make Sigma Pi the fraternity that it is.

ACE Project

On the international level, Sigma Pi is unique in its emphasis on community service that gives back not only organizations and individuals in the wider community but also to the host institutions of each of its chapters. Through its Altruistic Campus Experience (ACE) Project, each Sigma Pi chapter is helps to give back to its host institution through meeting a need on campus, whether it be help with landscaping, honoring outstanding University employees, or helping individual students with some need of their own. ACE was developed following a 2002 re-evaluation of the role of the Greek system on college campuses by Sigma Pi Executive Director Mark Briscoe. It is the first project of its kind among national and international fraternities and serves as an example for other organizations to follow. Alpha-Sigma Chapter held its first ACE Project in the fall of 2008 when it provided move-in assistance to incoming freshmen to the University of Arkansas by volunteering to carry their belongings from the unloading area of residence hall parking lots up to each students new room.

SAM Spady Foundation

The SAM Spady Foundation serves as the national philanthropy of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International. The foundation is named after Samantha Spady, an exceptional young woman who was a friend to many. She was a young woman whose life included stellar schoolwork, a strong work ethic and passion for serving others, as was demonstrated by her work with the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program.The first weekend in September was going to be a fun one for students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the university, as Colorado State University (CSU) played long time rival Colorado University (CU) Saturday night, in what promised to be an exciting game. Amidst all of the excitement surrounding the weekend festivities, Samantha’s life came to an unexpected and tragic end late in the evening that fateful Saturday night at the Sigma Pi Fraternity house, where she had spent her final hours socializing with the brothers, whom she considered to be good friends, a feeling that was mutual.The cause of death…alcohol poisoning.

Samantha’s parents have chosen to honor the memory of their daughter and continue her call to service by establishing the SAM Spady Foundation.  The purpose of the Foundation is to find an effective alcohol awareness program with emphasis on alcohol poisoning and high-risk consumption that can be implemented at colleges and universities in the United States. Samantha was a dear and devoted friend to Sigma Pi.  We cherish her friendship and choose to honor her memory by partnering with the SAM Spady Foundation.  Together we will educate the masses, inform the individual, and protect our most valuable asset with whom we have been trusted…our undergraduate members, both present and future.

Some content in this section adapted from information provided by sigmapi.org.

Philanthropy and Community Service in Alpha-Sigma Chapter

Being that philanthropy is an essential part of what makes Sigma Pi the fraternity that it is, we in Alpha-Sigma Chapter strive to fulfill the fraternity's philanthropic ideals.

In the fall of 2008, Chapter members assisted University Housing during it's annual fall move-in by volunteering to help carry the belongings of incoming freshmen from unloading zones in residence hall parking lots to their new rooms. This event served as the founding ACE Project for the Chapter and helped to spread the good name of Sigma Pi to the greater University community while also helping to make the transition into college slightly easier for new students.

The following semester, in March 2009, the Chapter conducted its first alcohol abuse awareness event in conjunction with the SAM Spady Foundation. In addition to distributing pamphlets with information about alcohol abuse and wallet cards from the Foundation listing the signs of alcohol poisioning, the fraternity also gave out over 750 plastic cups in the week leading up to Spring Break that listed the signs of alcohol poisoning. In addition, the cups also displayed the number to SAFE Ride, the no-questions-asked driving service that attempts to help curb drunk driving among the University of Arkansas community.

For the coming year we are beginning two new projects to help our local community. First, through the Adopt-A-Highway program, we are cleaning up our environment on the nearby Interstate in order to keep Arkansas beautiful. In the coming months, it should be possible to see a sign declaring a mile-long stretch of Interstate immediately south of Fayetteville to have been adopted by Sigma Pi. Our second project will be a spring event called “Swimming For Spady.” This will be a swim meet on campus that is dedicated to raising awareness about alcohol poisoning. Through these two events, we aim to help the University of Arkansas student body and the entire Fayetteville community.