Fraternity Brother Proud to Have Completed Two Hours of Community Service This Year

As the year ends and finals season comes to a close, many students take a moment to reflect on their year at Penn. Some celebrate their own academic success, new friends they made, or their personal growth. Others, like College sophomore Ben Stincott, are a bit more selfless.

"Looking back, I think I'm most proud of the work I did serving the community alongside my brothers," said Stincott, a member of on-campus fraternity Lambda Omega Lambda. "There really is no feeling like helping those who need it."

Stincott, who spent a total of two hours in the last two semesters doing community service, says that volunteering is incredibly important to him. "In 12th grade I volunteered at a soup kitchen once, because I had to as punishment after I got in a fight in gym class, but also because I wanted to. It really changed the way I perceived things — I was like, wow, being poor sucks. Ever since, I knew I needed to help those less fortunate than me."

The rising junior spent one hour last fall selling tickets to a charity event the fraternity was hosting, which counts as community service by the standards of his national chapter, and an hour this spring cleaning up trash in a park with his brothers, who all pregamed the activity. Both experiences, he tell us, were "truly eye-opening."

It's not just Stincott who cares deeply about community service and his responsibility to the less fortunate of West Philadelphia; the entirety of Lambda Omega Lambda has made community service a priority, requiring that, twice a semester, each member at least think about helping someone who isn't a brother or an attractive woman.

"Community service is one of our big selling points during rush and to parents," chapter president Michael Fraze said. "It shows that there is more to us than meets the eye." 

Fraze had to cut the interview short because it was Saturday, which is for the boys.