04.25.2011

Fraternity Helps Out

For the past two school years, the Nashville satellite of CWJC has had the privilege of working with the Vanderbilt Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi (Brothers Under Christ). This wonderful group of 105 young men has been volunteering as childcare workers, tutors to GED students, and clean-up crew members. Their weekly presence here has made our site stronger than ever.  More than anything, it has been a joy to watch the young boys, who come here while their mothers study, have young men they can look up to. The importance of male role models for young boys in poverty cannot be overstated. Through the Brothers at Beta Upsilon Chi, our kids have been inspired to work hard in school, go on to college, stay off the streets and away from harmful influences, and pursue a relationship with God. 

Prithvi Mudanna, the fraternity’s community involvement liaison, stated that the reason for the Brothers’ involvement in CWJC was “to establish relationships with the women and kids of CWJC and to participate in service together as a fraternity under the common bond of Jesus Christ.” The Nashville satellite has come to really rely on these relationships; because of all the extra help in the childcare room, we are able to allow more students with children into the program. In addition, many of the Brothers are engineering or science majors, so they’ve been a wonderful addition to our GED tutoring team, able to easily explain some of the most complex math problems to our ladies. As one GED student put it, “Can I take this guy into the GED test with me?  He explained it in a way that I actually understood!”

This year, the Brothers went even further. They chose to sponsor CWJC in their annual Fraternity fundraiser. At the fundraiser, members of the Fraternity “auctioned themselves to support the cause of CWJC. The students at Vanderbilt came out to bid on services such as a free meal cooked by one of the guys, a painting, or three hours of free “move out” service at the end of the semester. In addition to this, the new head football coach, James Franklin, offered to the highest bidder a sideline pass and free facility tour for the first game of the fall season. Proceeds will go to help fund more scholarships for women to enter our classes at no cost. 

Beta Upsilon Chi has started a tradition of throwing an End of the Year Luau event at Vanderbilt for our kids. In April, they rent out giant inflatable bouncers and slides for the kids to play on and set them up on one of Vanderbilt’s lawns. They set up a volleyball net and provide a lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers. All the women and children are invited. One mother said, “This is the first time in so long that my kids got to run around and just be carefree.” 

CWJC looks forward to more years of service together with the Brothers of Beta Upsilon Chi. They have become invaluable members of our extensive team of volunteers!