We are excited to announce that MAS has been awarded a $1000 grant. This grant comes from the Pi Beta Phi sorority and their FDS500 program. MAS was nominated by the Marquette University chapter. This grant will be used to purchase $1000 worth of new book from First Book. This grant stems from the sorority’s philanthropic effort, Read > Lead > Achieve, which seeks to inspire a lifelong love of reading. Pi Beta Phi believes that reading is crucial for society. This grant reflects their mission of “creating a more literate and productive society”. MAS was one of the 100 recipients nationwide to receive this grant. Book ordering will start October 1st.
We had the chance to interview Lucila Radke, Pi Beta Phi’s Director of Philanthropy and Service at Marquette University. Lucila is a current Junior from downtown Chicago studying Biological Sciences with a minor in Spanish for the Health Professions. One day she hopes to become a Doctor and work in Public Health. As Director of Philanthropy and Service, Lucila is in charge of raising awareness on campus regarding Literacy. One way Pi Beta Phi raises awareness is with events such as Lemonade for Literacy, where they hand out free cups of lemonade on campus with Facts about literacy taped to each cup. Events like this help promote the sorority’s mission “to promote friendship, develop women of intellect and integrity, cultivate leadership potential, and enrich lives through community service”
Lucila’s sorority has been volunteering at MAS for the last 10 years. When asked why they chose MAS as a volunteering site Lucila said, “As residents of Milwaukee, it is our responsibility to work against the injustices around us, even though we might not interact with them as much since we generally stay within the ‘Marquette bubble’ …. We love volunteering at MAS because it is dedicated to working against different issues of justice, including racism, economic disparity, and illiteracy”. It is students like Lucila that make a difference in today’s society. Students that identify systemic issues and use their resources to help the Milwaukee community. MAS would like to thank Marquette’s Pi Beta Phi Chapter for their commitment in the Milwaukee area. If you would like to know more about them, please check out their website: marquette.pibetaphi.org
Follow on insta: @marquettepiphi
By: Saul Lopez
Photo from 2019 MAS Classroom with Pi Beta Phi Volunteers