Phi Kappa Psi fraternity is working with Green the Greeks to sponsor its annual philanthropy concert tonight, encouraging the UCLA community to make environmentally friendly decisions.
“We want to hold an event the whole campus can look forward to, not just the Greek community,” said Pierce Cooley, a third-year history student and Phi Kappa Psi fraternity member.
The fraternity teamed up with the Green the Greeks campaign and the Southern California nonprofit organization Heal the Bay, said Nick Rasines, a second-year business economics student.
Heal the Bay is a nonprofit water quality and water pollution organization. All of the profits will be direct donations to the organization, said Rasines.
Saira Gandhi, volunteer coordinator at Heal the Bay, will speak at the philanthropy concert featuring Afroman about the clean-up and protection work Heal the Bay does.
The philanthropy concert is about issues we all need to be aware of and the consequences of our actions, Rasines said.
“The event has inspired our chapter. We realized how much Styrofoam we use and bought reusable plastic plates,” he added.
“We have already eliminated $500 worth of Styrofoam waste each week,” Cooley said.
The fraternity also realized a number of other “green” goals, including replacing all the light bulbs with more environmentally friendly options and buying new appliances such as energy-efficient washers and dryers, Cooley said.
“The whole house has gotten involved,” he added.
The entire cost of production is being funded by the brothers of Phi Kappa Psi, who have been fundraising for two months, Cooley said.
Planning the concert has been a long process, with preparations beginning in the fall when the fraternity booked Afroman to perform as well as the artist Venom, who has been traveling with Afroman on his nationwide tour, Cooley said.
Inspired by the turnout at the Andre Nickatina concert it held in the fall, Phi Kappa Psi realized it could hold a philanthropy event if it charged at the door, Rasines said.
Though this is the first year of the event, the fraternity hopes to make the concert annual and continue supporting Heal the Bay.
“This first event needs to be successful to ensure we can hold it annually,” Rasines said. Cooley added this year is about laying the groundwork for the future, so the concert can get bigger each year.
“We’re starting small, getting off the ground, and then we’ll go from there,” Cooley said.
The concert will be held at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, and doors open at 8:30 p.m.. Concert tickets are $10, $15 at the door.