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Giving Back to PiKA Begins at the
Undergraduate Level

Giving Back to Pi Kappa Alpha is a way of life for the undergraduate brothers of Eta Omicron Chapter.

For 12 consecutive years, brothers of this Smythe Award winning chapter at the University of Louisiana-Monroe have been loyal and consistent donors to the Phi Phi Kappa Alpha Club by having 100% of its undergraduate members making a gift of $20 or more to the Eta Omicron chapter endowment fund held by the Pi Kappa Alpha Educational Foundation.

“I remember looking over the ffka Club information in 1996 and thinking, this is probably something we should do.” stated longtime Eta Omicron advisor Tommy Walpole (Louisiana-Monroe, Eta Omicron ’80). “Never did I imagine that we’d be 100% supporters for this long. I think that first year we had 27 guys join and when we were recognized for that level of support, we thought we can surely do better. It is like putting money into our own bank, the bank of Pike. The interest earned from our contributions directly benefits our members and this directly affects our future in a very positive way. It’s been a win-win situation.”

Donations to the Phi Phi Kappa Alpha Club by undergraduates go directly into a chapter endowment fund for members to use to attend Pike University leadership training events. In times where our student brothers have to work their way through school, having additional funds available to attend the fraternity’s leadership events is vitally important. “I would guess that 95% of our members have a part time job. The dollars provided to us by the chapter endowment fund are the difference in most of our guys being able to attend a Pike University event or not,” commented Eta Omicron SMC Joseph Beard. “While as an officer I enjoy attending, it is more important for our newest members to be at the Leadership Summit each year to gain first hand knowledge of what it takes to be successful – the Eta Omicron Chapter Endowment makes this possible.”

Beard believes that the leadership training provided by the fraternity is first class. “Pike University has provided the opportunity for us to learn more about the day to day operations of our fraternity and to provide an opportunity for our brothers to broaden their Pike horizons outside of our chapter. The events have provided a strong reinforcement of what it takes to be successful in Pi Kappa Alpha.”

When thinking back over his years as advisor to Eta Omicron Chapter, Walpole believes that alumni support is the constant that continues to help the chapter succeed. “Eta Omicron alumni continue to amaze me with the level of support they provide for our chapter. The majority of our members leave their active years with a very strong attachment for Pike and what it did for them while at ULM. This feeling translates into strong support for the men now charged with the future of Eta Omicron Chapter. As alumni, we subsidize attendance at every Pike University event held knowing we’re helping to train the brothers responsible for our Pike future. It is such a comforting feeling knowing our alums believe that we are our brother’s keeper and they demonstrate this year after year.”

For more information on how you can make a gift to your chapter’s endowment fund, please contact Director of Development George Miller at 800-456-7452 ext 103 or by email at gmiller@pikes.org.