Acacia gives back

Kenny Greer/The Lantern Matt Taylor volunteers by cleaning windows at the Ronald McDonald House Sunday.

While many Ohio State students spend their Sunday afternoons sleeping in or recovering from the long night before, members of the Acacia Fraternity devote them to service.

Every other Sunday, members of Acacia can be found at the Ronald McDonald House across from Nationwide Children's Hospital cleaning, arranging donated items and conducting maintenance work.

The Ronald McDonald House serves as a haven for families of patients going through treatment at Nationwide Children's Hospital. It offers visitors a place to stay while maintaining all the comforts of home. The majority of its support comes from the donations and volunteer work of central Ohio residents. Members of Acacia say this is what drives them to help out.

Acacia is the only fraternity at OSU that is not represented by Greek letters, but rather by one word.

"Instead of using a couple of Greek letters, we use a Greek word that symbolizes strength and leadership," said Zach Schwartz, a senior in evolution and ecology.

The fraternity, which is based on community service, participates in several volunteer activities each month including work with the Special Olympics, Ohio State Welcome Leaders (OWL) and BuckeyeThon.

They connected with the Ronald McDonald House after a former member interned with the program.

"It was going to be a one-time thing but everyone liked it so well that we started doing it on a regular basis," Schwartz said.

Kenny Greer/The Lantern

Garren Cabral, the fraternity's recruitment chair, said he was pleased with the timing of this particular service opportunity because this week happens to be Acacia's rush week.

"I scheduled this service project for rushing purposes because I wanted to show anyone thinking of joining what we do," Cabral said. "If they saw us helping and they helped, it would maybe make them want to join and do more for the community."

Not only does the fraternity make regular visits to the Ronald McDonald House, it also conducts fundraisers targeted toward donating money to the charity.

Acacia is comprised of about 20 members. Despite its relatively small membership, the fraternity is enthusiastic about recruiting and expanding.

"We are a smaller frat compared to others on campus, but that brings us opportunities to make our own fraternity experience and let people see something a little different," Schwartz said.

Jay Ferguson, a third-year international studies major, is currently rushing Acacia. He said he was primarily looking for a way to get more involved in the community while also joining a brotherhood.

"This frat has so many good guys that are all motivated and who inspired me to become a part of a social and volunteer based fraternity," Ferguson said.

"We are a social frat but we do a lot of human service because that is our motto," Cabral said. "I wanted to do a service like this one because it isn't just air and fluff."

Donations to the Ronald McDonald House can be made by contacting the RMHC Development Department at 614-227-3740 or by accessing its Web site at www.colrmhc.org.

Sara Clifford can be reached at clifford.65@osu.edu.