This year, 560 people across the world are receiving wheelchairs thanks to the efforts of San Diego State fraternities and sororities.

Greek Week 2008

In an annual campus event known as Greek Week, SDSU Greeks collaborate to fundraise for a common beneficiary in the spring.

Unlike past years that had a local focus, Greek Week 2008 focused on The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit organization that delivers wheelchairs to people around the world who need them but cannot afford them.

In the most successful collaboration to date, this year the SDSU Greeks raised $30,000, which was then matched by a donation from the Rotary Club of Conejo Valley, Calif., bringing the grand total to more than $60,000. Funds paid for wheelchairs for disabled people, including landmine victims, in Colombia, Ecuador, Ukraine and Romania.

Donation in Colombia

This past summer, SDSU students Chloe Marx of Alpha Phi and Jenn Bjorklund of Kappa Alpha Theta sororities, and Josh Shiel of Phi Kappa Theta and Tim Velasquez of Sigma Chi fraternities, traveled throughout Colombia to personally distribute wheelchairs and meet past wheelchair recipients.

Greek Week 2009

For Greek Week 2009, SDSU Greeks are working with Operation Global Vision to combat cataracts – the world’s leading cause of blindness affecting 18 million people worldwide.

The Global Health Education Foundation and Lions Club International have agreed to match every dollar raised during Greek Week. Every $80 donation will bring cataract surgery and restored sight to someone in the world.

To view a video of the trip to Colombia, click below. To view a transcript of the video, click here.