Many fraternity and sorority philanthropies go toward local causes, state issues and sometimes, national causes.

Rarely do you hear about fraternities and sororities having philanthropies that help people at an international level, but Theta Nu Xi’s philanthropy does just this.

Theta Nu Xi, a multicultural sorority of the United Greek Council works with Girl Up, an organization created to support the work of the United Nations.

Heba Hanbali, the treasurer of Theta Nu Xi, elaborated on what exactly it is that Girl Up does. 

“Since Girl Up’s launch in 2010, we’ve partnered with the United Nations to support comprehensive programs that give adolescent girls in developing countries an equal chance for education, health, social and economic opportunities, and a life free from violence,” Hanbali said.

Their chapter, the Alpha Omega Colony, raises donations to help less fortunate girls by giving them bicycles to help them to get to school to receive an education. Through Girl Up and Theta Nu Xi’s partnership, sisters help fundraise and donate to the cause.

Hanbali further went in detail about future philanthropy events Theta Nu Xi will have.

“On May 19, Theta Nu Xi members plan on lacing up their running shoes for the first National Theta Nu Xi Fundraiser, in collaboration with the third annual Girl Up Global 5K. All the money raised will go directly towards Girl Up-supported UNFPA program in Guatemala that provides educational programming to out-of-school adolescent girls,” Hanbali said.

The programs that Theta Nu Xi supports also focus on preventing child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, training girls in financial literacy, and providing reproductive and sexual health.

Theta Nu Xi’s efforts should be applauded. The ladies of the Alpha Omega Colony help women and young women better themselves in places where it is difficult to get an education. The girls they are helping are benefiting so much from Theta Nu Xi and Girl Up.

We all too often take education for granted. In less economical and third-world countries, an education is an opportunity to change the financial situation of children and adults. Education is important because in the world we live in today, knowledge is power and it helps us do great things.

Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, once said, “Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody.”