ATW helps local community

by Julie Trac
News Editor

On Saturday, Sept. 17, 27 brothers of the Epsilon Nu chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega (ATW) Fraternity put together a playground set for the town of Smithshire , IL located 16 miles southwest of Monmouth.

Kenneth Blair, assistant director of Greek Life, mentioned the project to David Gerth '08, philanthropy chairman of ATW, after the public grounds coordinator from Smithshire contacted Blair.

The ATW men were told the work would not total more than 4 hours; however, the ATWs put in more than 10 hours by days end. They dug holes for 60-80 lb. poles and performed other sorts of manual labor.

Bobby Blitek '06 said, “Even though we were there for an extra 6 hours, it was worth it when we saw the faces on the kids waiting to play on the equipment.”

When asked about the Smithshire project, Gerth said, “I wanted to do something big that would stand out in the community and to show our faces. We like helping the community and making an impact.”

Gerth continued, “Because many ATW men are education majors or have close relationships with younger siblings or cousins, they feel the need to help children in any way possible. This project was the perfect opportunity for that.”

ATW has a long history of participating in a variety of philanthropies this year and in years past. Gerth states that the ATWs have done a philanthropic activity every weekend since MC started. They helped with New Student Move-In with other Greeks on campus and “Boodify the Boone” in which they cleaned the areas around Boone House.

This upcoming Saturday, Sept. 24, the ATWs will serve food and provide clean-up services for an annual lobster boil in Peoria to help raise money to cure cancer.

Later this year, Gerth has plans to help set-up a haunted house in the Orpheum Theatre in Galesburg and to start a toy collection program in November to donate to Toys for Tots or the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In addition, the ATWs are considering a dessert auction with the women of Alpha Xi Delta to benefit a yet to be named organization, participate in the Adopt a Highway program, and clean the parks and baseball fields in Peoria and Monmouth.

Last year, ATW sold hearts for cancer patient Janet Tatman and partook in the Kiddie Krosswalk on Halloween to ensure the safety of children during trick-or-treat hours which they plan to do again this Halloween.

Gerth concluded by saying, “You never know what to expect from us. We'll be in places where you wouldn't expect fraternity members.”

Gerth hails from Downers Grove , IL . He is an Elementary Education major with a concentration in mathematics. Gerth's current involvement in Greek life extends further than philantrophy chairman.

Gerth is the Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol (G.A.M.M.A) representative, an InterFraternal Council (IFC) representative as well as ATW's webmaster.