Throughout this semester, the brothers from the Upsilon-Xi Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) have been making a difference in the community and beyond through events such as the Push-Up Challenge, the St. Jude Car Smash in early October and volunteering with Cass Community Social Services in Detroit. TKE has also been making an impact at home as well as in adjacent communities.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, members of TKE picked up their rakes and went to work. In conjunction with the City of Auburn Hills Rake and Run Program, TKE signed up to help clear leaves from the lawn of an elderly individual who could not do it on her own.

“One of our principles in Teke is service,” said Max Behl, philanthropy chairman of the Upsilon-Xi Chapter of TKE. “The whole community service aspect is a big thing, and plus we go to school here, a lot of us live right around this area. This is our home too.”

As well as local volunteer work, the Tekes also have more events planned in the near future with their main philanthropy partner, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, which was founded by Tau Kappa Epsilon alum Danny Thomas. Upcoming in the month of November, several members of TKE will be participating in a No-Shave November social media campaign in order to raise funds for St. Jude’s. This spring in April, TKE will be hosting their biggest philanthropy event of the year, Shave for St. Jude, in which members of TKE, and potentially some university faculty, will shave their heads if a certain dollar amount is raised for St. Jude.

In the meantime, the Tekes will continue to impact their neighbors and communities through service and philanthropy, whether they are in their own backyard or abroad in the Metro Detroit area.