CALS Connection Winter 2019-2020
"Alpha Gamma Rho: Dedication to Service"
By Zoe Bowden, agricultural education and communication master’s student
Published December 10, 2019
Embodying the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences core value of service, the Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) fraternity gives back to not only UF students but to the greater Gainesville community. The UF Alpha Gamma chapter of AGR received High Honor in the 2019 AGR Fraternal Excellence Awards for their Outstanding Community Service and Philanthropic Efforts.
“You come to college to learn, but being in AGR you learn how to become community-centered and how to give back, that way when you leave college you have that awareness of how to help others,” said Case Emerson, president of AGR. “There’s a lot of fun to be had in a fraternity, but when you get a big group together you also have the ability to really make a difference in the lives of others.”
AGR hosts two major service events a year: the Buck-off fundraiser benefitting the Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge and the ExtravaCANza food drive event for the UF Alan and Cathy Hitchcock Field & Fork Pantry. The Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge provides housing for those who come to Gainesville for cancer treatment but are unable to afford their own lodging. Both the Hope Lodge and the Hitchcock Pantry rely on donations and volunteers to provide services to those who depend on them.
In addition to these two events, AGR brothers also participate in several service events around campus and in smaller independent initiatives. Once such activity involves making sandwiches to give to a homeless community near the Gainesville Regional Airport.
“The first time I went, I didn’t know a homeless community existed out there or how big of a population it was,” said Stephen Singleton, an AGR brother and environmental management in agriculture and natural resources major. “They were so appreciative for it too, saying ‘Thank you; you don’t know how much this means to us.’ We had great conversations.”
For Singleton, participating in service events opened his eyes to how other people live and that the efforts he participates in make a difference. The experience has encouraged him to become more involved in service. This led him to take on the role of AGR service chair.
“Seeing how the act of service makes a difference in someone else’s life impacts the volunteer and motivates them to want to do more,” Singleton said. “The model for AGR is to make better men, and I think that any good man should be able to not only serve those around him who are important to him, but also to serve those in need.”
Singleton’s favorite service events are UF Dance Marathon, supporting the Children’s Miracle Network, and the CALS Day of Service, held in partnership with Rise Against Hunger.
“I look forward to CALS Day of Service, because that’s the day I see everybody from CALS come together and work for one common goal,” Singleton said. “It’s the day we come together as a college; it shows the diversity of the college and that we are all fighting toward the goal of feeding the world.”
On Nov. 21, CALS students packaged 25,272 meals during the CALS Day of Service. Volunteers who came to package the meals each brought five (or more) nonperishable items for the Hitchcock Pantry – donating 983 pounds of food collectively. That’s enough to fill the pantry for a week!
For Singleton, it is also important to give back to the organizations that support AGR. Two years ago, the AGR brothers in partnership with Sigma Alpha, the professional agricultural sorority, developed the CALS Teacher and Advisor Appreciation Week.
Throughout the week, AGR brothers and Sigma Alpha sisters host coffee breaks and a lunch at the AGR house to show their gratitude for teachers and advisors. They also deliver thank you notes written by CALS students and alumni in appreciation for faculty and staff.
Singleton has big plans for AGR service activities moving forward. Currently in the works is a spring semester service project in Hastings, Florida. Every year, local farmers allocate one acre of their land to be used to produce food that is donated to local food banks. Typically, the farmers have a volunteer crew distribute the produce to food banks across Florida. The farmers also provide an on-site lunch for those in the community who are food insecure. Singleton hopes AGR can be part of packaging and sorting food for this event.
From serving local to statewide communities, the AGR brothers exemplify the land-grant ideals of access, innovation and relevance through service to others.