Philanthropic Undertakings

Social responsibility is something that Alpha Epsilon Pi strives to instill on an international and local level. Every year at our international convention the brothers of AEPi vote to adopt one or more beneficiaries for all of our collective fundraising efforts. The current international philanthropies are the Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem and the Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts related to Hurricane Katrina.

Each chapter raises money for these causes in their own way, and our chapter likes to combine traditional events like bowling night fundraisers with more novel approaches like the philanthro-taxi, which offers students the opportunity to be transported to class via golf cart for a modest donation to one of our chosen causes.

Because money is not the only resource for which there is unmet need, our chapter also organizes events like the Gift of Life bone marrow registration drive and American Red Cross blood drives, both of which were organized with the help of Berkeley Hillel. The blood drives benefit people all around the country, and the Gift of Life program is aimed at addressing the unique difficulties faced by Jewish patients looking for matching bone marrow donors, which arise from the havoc inflicted on European Jewry by the Nazi Holocaust.

We recognize that our own philanthropic and fundraising efforts would be impossible without the help of other members of our community, so we try to reciprocate by supporting the charitable initiatives of other organizations on campus. This semester, AEPi President Joe Rothberg participated in a charity pageant hosted by Gamma Phi Beta, a Berkeley sorority, and he was crowned Mr. Popularity at the pageant because of the unmatched support and attendance contributed by AEPi brothers.