Altruistic Campus Experience

In 2002, Sigma Pi embarked on a unique and ambitious philanthropic project which directly involves our chapters and their host institutions. The Altruistic Campus Experience, or ACE Project, is unlike any program in the Greek community. It is the first international service project devoted to benefiting the faculty, administration, or host institution of the campus where individual chapters are located.

The Altruistic Campus Experience began as nothing more than an idea of Executive Director and Honorary Grand Sage Mark S. Briscoe (Arkansas State ’78) as he reevaluated the role of the fraternal systems on our college campuses. Briscoe saw a need that was not being met by any campus organization, and with the help of the staff and Grand Council helped to lead the way in service to our schools.

The project was presented as a concept to the undergraduate leaders at the 2003 Mid-Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis, and was approved by our membership with great excitement. The program was officially launched during Sigma Pi University 2003 with a bold announcement that Sigma Pi Fraternity would lead the way in service for our campuses.

ACE is designed to help encourage our chapter members to develop pride and respect for their alma mater, while giving something back to the Fraternity’s host institution. Each chapter is encouraged to conduct a service event that is specifically designed to benefit their campus. By becoming directly involved with our universities we hope to not only develop our members into better students, we also want to produce loyal alumni who will continue to give back to their alma mater long after each of them has graduated.

The first step of the ACE Project is to gather resources from the Executive Office, available online at sigmapi.org, before meeting with an administrative campus official. The chapter must then meet and seek approval for a project before they begin work to insure that everyone can benefit from the experience. Chapters are encouraged to work hard to promote the project, invite other organizations to participate, and get the good news into the local media as it helps its school.

The ACE Project is not just for the campus, it is also for the benefit of the chapters who put in the hours to complete the task. Members gain not only a great feeling of satisfaction in knowing they made a difference, but also have shown others another example why membership in Sigma Pi Fraternity is important. Chapters are noticed and recognized for their altruism, making each man more likely to develop the positive habits of giving to others and developing into the contributing members of society.

Service and philanthropy is important in the life of an educated man. It falls upon us to give back to our communities and campuses. As students, we live, study, and learn daily on our campus; work with the administration to find a way to make it better. The campus is preparing us for our careers and lives.

The Executive Office supports the efforts of chapters with marketing materials, advice, and recognition for their efforts. Colleges and universities play an integral role in advising chapters on a proper event and/or approving the proposed events.

In its first year (2003–04), the ACE Project brought our chapters and host institutions together through thousands of volunteer hours of service by organizing cleaning projects, literacy programs, replenishing blood supplies for university hospitals, planting trees, painting and rehabilitating campus areas, honoring professors, assisting the school with alcohol and other awareness programs, and volunteering for outside charity on behalf of their host institution. ACE benefits everyone who is involved.