FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 20^th—Fifteen Tau Kappa Epsilon fraters helped move woodchips and restore egret habitat at the Berkeley shoreline with the Aquatic Park EGRET organization. EGRET is the stewardship group for the tidal wetlands of Berkeley’s largest city park, according to egretpark.org. Volunteers with the organization help tend to the shoreline habitats, improving the quality of life for a multitude of migratory birds that reside near the coastline.

Under Mark Liolios’s leadership, the EGRET group has helped restore and maintain healthy habitats for herons, egrets, and other wildlife for more than one decade. TKE Nu first began volunteering with Mark in the fall semester of 2010, when the Rho Pledge Class’s Secretary, freshman Nik Crain, organized for his pledge class to volunteer at the aquatic park, a grassy area surrounding the lagoon off the Eastshore Freeway between Berkeley and Emeryville. The city park, full of bike paths and a disc-golf course, is a prime location to combine an enthusiasm for the outdoors with an opportunity to restore and protect Berkeley’s pristine natural features. “Volunteering at Aquatic Park EGRET has been an invaluable experience. Not only has it been educational by teaching us how to protect and preserve the natural habitat of migratory birds, but it has also allowed us to strengthen our appreciation for the local beauty of Berkeley and the surrounding Bay Area,” said frater Nik Crain at the event on Sunday.

This Sunday marks the second time that TKE Nu has served with this group and dedicated its time to preserve Berkeley’s coastline. TKE Nu would like to thank Mark Liolios for his hospitality and enthusiasm, and looks forward to continuing its involvement with Aquatic Park EGRET in the future.

For more information, please visit egretpark.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Berkeley TKE Chapter Holds Battle of the Bands Philanthropy for St. Jude’s

Berkeley, CA – November 6, 2010 – On Saturday night, Nu Chapter held a philanthropy event for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The Chapter’s signature event, Battle of the Bands, was a huge success, selling over 100 tickets.

Ross Meyer, the Chairman in charge of organizing the event, organized five bands to play that night, and sold beverages and food as well to further raise funds.

“All the bands were incredible putting on a show greater than I could have imagined,” Meyer said of the event. “Everyone had a great time.”

Nu Chapter has had this event ever Fall Semester, and through this and other philanthropical endeavors, the TKE brothers will continue supporting St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

“It’s a great cause and a great event, and I’m glad that I could have had a part in planning it,” Meyer also said.

Contact:
Christian Handley
Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com
TKE Nu Chapter
2725 Channing Way,
Berkeley, California 94704

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Nu TKE Brothers Attend Berkeley Project 2010

Berkeley, CA – November 6, 2010 – On a Saturday in Berkeley, TKE Brothers went out of their way to attend the Berkeley Project, a daylong community service program headed by UC Berkeley students.

Over 2000 volunteers came out to Lower Sproul to group up and travel to multiple places around Berkeley to perform community service, such as cleaning up local youth centers or picking up trash along the highways.

Thirty-five people attended from Nu Chapter, brothers and candidates alike, to garden along the Eastshore Freeway, pulling out weeds and dead plants so that it can be properly beautified in the future.

“With over half our brothers and candidates attending, TKE was able to make an impressionable showing at the Berkeley Project,” said Alexander Hebels, Philanthropy Chairman. “Not only did this provide us with an opportunity to give back to our community, but we were able to enjoy one another’s company and successfully combine service with brotherhood.”

Hebels hopes to continue high TKE attendance at the Berkeley Project in semesters to come. For more information on the Berkeley Project, and how you can help, please visit http://berkeleyproject.org.

Contact:
Christian Handley
Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com
TKE Nu Chapter
2725 Channing Way,
Berkeley, California 94704

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Nu Chapter Raises Over $1800 for St. Jude’s through Letter Writing Event

Berkeley, CA – September 8, 2010 – On March 14^th, 2010, Nu Chapter held a letter writing event for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, sending out a total of 424 letters to friends and family members, asking them to donate some amount to the Hospital.

Recently, the Philanthropy Chairman at Nu Chapter, Alex Hebels, received an email from St. Jude’s with the total amount raised as a direct result of those letters: 1878 dollars total. This money will be used to fund the non-profit children’s hospital which accepts and treats children for free.

“It’s great to know that so many family members and other people we have contacted were so eager to send money to our main philanthropy organization,” said Alex Hebels.

St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital has been Nu Chapter’s designated philanthropy organization for the past year and a half. The chapter has also raised money through its Battle of the Bands event last year.

Contact:
Christian Handley
Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com
TKE Nu Chapter
2725 Channing Way,
Berkeley, California 94704

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Nu Chapter Holds Letter Writing Event for St. Jude Children’s Hospital

Berkeley, CA – March 14, 2010 – On March 14^th, 2010, members from Berkeley’s Greek community gathered at TKE Nu Chapter to write to friends and family to encourage them to donate to St. Jude’s Children hospital.

Overall, 13 brothers and 10 membership candidates attended from Nu Chapter, as well as a handful of women from Tri-Delta, attended the event. Each person was encouraged to send at least 10 letters, with some brothers sending almost 40, if not more.

“We ended up sending off 424 combined letters,” says Ted Rothenberg, the Philanthropy Chairman for Nu Chapter. “We hope that this will result in many donations to St. Jude’s.”

A raffle was also held at the event, where an entry was earned for each letter sent off. The winner was given an iPod Touch.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is TKE’s national philanthropic partner organization, and is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. It houses some of the most knowledgeable researchers in the world, and uses the most cutting edge technology. It is well known that the hospital will accept any and all patients without regard to ability or inability to pay. For more information on St. Jude’s and how to make donations, please visit their website at http://www.stjude.org.

Contact:
Christian Handley
Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com
TKE Nu Chapter
2725 Channing Way,
Berkeley, California 94704

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Brothers at TKE Nu Get Trained for Berkeley Food and Housing Project

February 5th, 2010 – Berkeley, CA – Last Friday 30 brothers attended a training class for the Berkeley Food and Housing Project in order to prepare themselves for future events with the organization.

Each brother spent an hour learning how to effectively serve and communicate with the homeless community from each Berkeley Food and Housing Project location.

“This training session really prepared me for future events with the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, as well as general philanthropy events,” says Josh Feldman, a current Brother and House Manager at TKE.

Ted Rothenberg, the TKE philanthropy chair, plans for the trained TKE Brothers to serve the homeless community food twice a month on Fridays.

The Berkeley Food and Housing project, founded in 1970, “provides emergency food and shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, and housing replacement with support services to homeless individuals and families.” For more information, visit http://www.bfhp.org/, or call 1-866-960-2132.

Contact:
Christian Handley
Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com
TKE Nu Chapter
2725 Channing Way,
Berkeley, California 94704

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TKE Nu Chapter Brothers Lend a Hand for K to College’s “School Supplies Initiative”

Berkeley, CA – January 29, 2010 – Last Sunday, January 23rd from 9AM to noon brothers from TKE Nu Chapter at UC Berkeley attended the “School Supplies Initiative,” a program led by the philanthropy group “K to College.”

Thirty-one brothers were in attendance that day, putting together bags of school supplies for underprivileged K-12 students in the East Bay area. The brothers worked together with other UC Berkeley organizations at Pauley Ballroom on campus.

“It always feels good to give back to the community that supports us and our chapter.” Says David Herschorn, the Secretary of Nu Chapter. “I see no better way than to help young students-tomorrow’s university students and Tekes.”

The “School Supply Initiative” seeks to provide every low-income student with 50-70 dollars worth of grade-appropriate school supplies at nearly a quarter of the cost.

Overall, the brothers were able to accumulate 93 hours total, with a semester philanthropy goal of 500 hours. Pictures of the event can be found on the TKE Nu website.

For more information about the “School Supplies Initiative” or “K to College,” please visit http://www.eastbaycsf.org/. If you wish to contact “K to College,” you can do so at http://k2college.org/contact.

Contact:

Christian Handley

Chandley (at) TKENu (dot) com

TKE Nu Chapter

2725 Channing Way,

Berkeley, California 94704

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