By Kristin Edwards
The Sam Houston State University chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity recently made a $10,000 donation to Walker County’s Child Protective Services division.
According to Mary McCarly, CPS board treasurer, the funds will be used for a variety of projects and programs which benefit Walker County children.
“We were very surprised and excited when we heard about the Sigma Chi donation,” McCarly said. “When I first heard about it, I had to ask the person telling me to recount the zeros on the end of the amount.
“This is just a huge, pleasant surprise — we’re very grateful and we just want to give a huge thanks to Sigma Chi.”
Event coordinator Adam Novosad said the fraternity raised the funds for CPS through their annual Fight Night event.
“This donation accounts for most of the funds we made at Fight Night this year,” he said. “We decided to donate this money to CPS mostly because it was Christmas time and we thought it should go to children who needed it.
“In the past, we’ve donated funds to the HEARTS Museum and to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
McCarly said the bulk of the funds will most likely be used to purchase items for the CPS Rainbow Room.
“We have lots of projects, but our Rainbow Room has to be stocked with new items to be used in emergencies,” she said. “The room provides diapers, other supplies and clothing for children of all ages, and it’s a big project to keep that room full.”
Peter Solana, Sigma Chi president, said he first became aware of the need to donate funds to CPS through an E-mail sent to several fraternities and sororities at SHSU.
“I got a message from CPS around August or September, and I knew we had to do something to help them,” he said. “It’s just a great honor to help the community, and we’re looking forward to working with CPS again.”
