While many undergraduates are at the beach, there are fraternity men in south Texas striving to do a little more. The brothers of the Texas Chi Chapter are giving back to the Corpus Christi community with their recently launched SigEp Summer Service Series. 

The idea of summer service originated when a new member, Gabriel Cisneros, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi ‘15, expressed that he wanted to see the chapter do more for the community. Traditionally, Texas Chi participates in its campus’ major service event, but Gabriel expected more from his brothers. 

“The very first event I did with SigEp was a park cleanup and that really got me hooked,” says Cisneros. “In my opinion, community service is a great way to bring brothers together.”

Chapter president Michael Gandara, ‘15, wanted to help too, so he began thinking of ways to incorporate more service into the chapter. To avoid the risk of over-programming during the semester, he came up with the idea of having the events in the summer. 

“The SigEp Summer Service Series is perfect because it’s something that helps bring brothers together during the summer,” says Gandara, “which is difficult to do, and it aligns with our principles.”

So far, the brothers have come together and worked with three different organizations throughout the series: PALS Animal Shelter, the Corpus Christi Food Bank and the city’s Adopt-A-Park program. The brothers have done everything. They have walked and bathed nearly 40 dogs, inspected and repackaged meat, and helped tend to a future butterfly garden. 

The brothers are proud of the service series. They have earned respect and recognition from its university, other campus organizations and from other entities. 

“The cliche sayings about the good of service and its effects on you are true; it feels good to give back to the community.”

The brothers have completed four service events with two more scheduled and, potentially, a third on the way. 

“Fraternities aren’t just about girls, drinking and partying,” says Cisneros. “Our Fraternity can do good for themselves and the community. SigEp is a brotherhood and our brothers are balanced men.”