As a chapter, we pride ourselves on our commitment to philanthropic causes and community outreach. The fraternal spirit in our chapter thrives in light of a new and innovative philanthropic agenda. This past semester, Epsilon-Delta co-hosted the largest Autism Speaks walk in the nation. As one might imagine, we, like any other Teke would, embraced the challenges of preparation and sought to put on a memorable walk for the Autism Speaks community. Each brother was required to raise at least $35 and send at least 10 marketing emails to friends and family. Of course, like in all fraternal domains, many brothers did much more— raising hundreds of dollars, totaling close to $6200 on behalf of our hard-working chapter.

In addition to the large Autism Speaks event, our chapter also participated in other philanthropic events. In October, our brothers were the first group of UMass fraternity volunteers at the Pumpkin 5k event, a local Halloween 5k for children in the community. Our brothers helped set up for the event and even ran a post-race game area for kids, our brothers did face painting, tattoos, and handed out lollipops. This project was a good initial step in educating folks in the community about the good work our chapter seeks to participate in. Every fall we also host our annual "Smash the Semester" Car Smash to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The event is always a big hit around campus and a staple of our philanthropic goals. Some of our other previous St. Jude events include our Cuts for a Cure, Valentine's Day Roses, and Fried Oreos events.

Along with our work at the Pumpkin 5k, our Annual Car Smash, and other philanthropic events we participate in, each week for the last two and half years we send volunteers to the Amherst survival shelter, further developing a philanthropic relationship with the community. Four days a week we send 3-5 brothers to the local Amherst Survival Shelter. Our brother have consistently done diligent volunteer work at the shelter, so much so that recently the shelter had a plaque made in honor of our commitment to living their mission, “helping neighbors in need”. The plaque reads: “...in grateful recognition and appreciation for your volunteer efforts to support the Amherst Survival Center’s mission to connect our neighbors to food, clothing, healthcare, wellness and community...presented to the Brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon.” This plaque serves as just a small reminder that our work in the community is impactful and that we should strive to impress all our philanthropic collaborators in a similar manner.