GCSU fraternity, sororities team up to help Milledgeville Fire Rescue Services

Published 7:00 am Saturday, August 24, 2024

A partnership created last year between Milledgeville Fire Rescue Services along with a fraternity and the sororities at Georgia College & State University gets underway next week.

One of the first of several events begins Monday as local firefighters try to match the talents of younger men from the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity in a benefit basketball game.

The game starts at 5 p.m. at the Wellness and Recreation Center at GCSU’s West Campus. Admission will be charged at the door.

“We have eight firefighters who will be playing for the fire department’s basketball team,” said Lt. Frank Manson, who will lead the team as head coach.

Last year, the firefighters didn’t do well in the basketball game, but this is a new year. The fire department has added some younger players whom Manson hopes will spell the difference between winning and losing.

“We’ve got youth on our side this year, so we’re going to see if that makes the difference this time around,” Mason said.

A community-wide car wash will be held Tuesday in one of the parking lots at GCSU West Campus from 1 to 4 p.m. Car washes will cost between $10 to $15, depending on the size of the vehicle.

“We normally have between 100 and 200 people that show up for the car wash,” according to Riley Kerstine, president of the fraternity.

Members of the fraternity hope to wash even more cars and trucks, as well as SUVs next Tuesday.

Kerstine is a senior at GCSU and majoring in finance and minoring in public speaking. 

The fraternity does not keep a penny of the money raised through the various events.

“Fifty percent of the money raised goes to the fire department and the other 50 percent goes to the top three sororities that finished events during the week,” said Wister Ritchie IV, a 2020 graduate of John Milledge Academy in Milledgeville, who is majoring in business management.

The goal is to raise even more money than last year. The biggest portion of it will go to Milledgeville Fire Rescue Services to help offset costs associated with its summer youth development program.

“We’ll take the money donated to us from the fraternity and sororities and use it in different ways, such as field trips,” Manson said.

During the summer, eight teens, ages 14 to 16, benefited from the fire department’s youth development program, Manson said.

“The events are all coordinated by the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity,” according to Ritchie, who serves as internal vice president of the fraternity at GCSU. “Our fraternity puts the events together and then we get all of the sororities involved.”

One of the fun events is a flag football game every Wednesday.

“They all play against each other, and we raise money that way, too,” Ritchie said. “The football games are always a lot of fun.”

Manson said he appreciates the partnership with the college fraternity and sororities.

“We work closely with Georgia College & State University on a lot of calls, whether it’s fire alarms or a medical call, etc.,” Manson said. “We serve them in a lot of ways. And it’s good to have that relationship because we get to know them and they get to know us.”

The firefighter/coach said he believes it’s good to have a community relationship and network with each other.

Kerstine said firefighters with Milledgeville Fire Rescue Services do so much to help the GCSU community so he believes it’s simply the right thing to do for the fraternity to give back to them.

“They do a great job to help us in this community and we appreciate it,” Kerstine said.