Service is one of the basic and most important values held by all FIJIs. It is necessary for building teamwork, leadership, and giving back to our community. The Zeta Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta focuses multiple projects around service and philanthropy.
Indiana University Dance Marathon is philanthropic organization that benefits the Ryan White Infectious Disease Center at Riley Hospital. It remains the second largest student run organization in the nation, and Zeta FIJI continues the tradition of being the highest fundraising group since IUDM’s inception. In 2024, Fiji once again led all other organizations and raised over $100,000 as a house. This past year the grand total raised for Riley Hospital was nearly $3.8 million, all of which goes directly to the kids. Zeta’s involvement with IUDM also features many brothers being selected for committee positions and even the executive council. This year we have 5 members on executive boards. For this upcoming year three brothers are holding executive positions. Throughout campus, Zeta Fiji is known for its passion and commitment to IUDM and we take pride in doing the most we can to make a difference.
Over the last few years, Zeta Fiji looked to expand our philanthropic efforts through volunteering at local food banks and local nonprofit companies. We firmly believe that it’s our responsibility to lead by example and generously give back to the community. As a house, the combined effort of all brothers contributed to various charities by participating in events such as Delta Zeta’s “DZ Slam,” Alpha Phi’s “Phifa”, Hoosiers Outrun Cancer, Alpha Chi Omega’s “GI Alpha CHI”, and various others. Zeta Fiji also features many brothers who volunteer their time to student organizations such as IU Best Buddies and College Mentors for Kids to assist or mentor children with special needs or underprivileged children that come from low socioeconomic levels.
On top of that, FIJI is very involved in Special Olympics. The two presidents of Special Olympics are juniors in the house, Jake Reasoner and Tyler Lacy. They work to get multiple other brothers to go bowling once a week. They have worked hard to develop a program that helps serve other people.
Another current part of Zeta’s philanthropic portfolio is “Run the Ball”, which involves a fundraiser with the Phi Gamma Delta chapter of Purdue. For run the ball, Purdue FIJIs run a football halfway to Bloomington and then hands the ball to IU FIJIs to run the rest of the way. The event benefits the Wheeler Mission which helps homeless people in the Bloomington area. This year we raised over $27,000.
We at the Zeta Fiji chapter are passionately involved with a variety of charitable organizations and it remains a top priority to continue to give back to the community.