News

Sophomore Sacha Pritzker, Zeta ’22 (Dartmouth), helped found Fuel Our Heroes, an organization that has raised over $222,000 for PPE for frontline workers fighting COVID-19. Several other brothers have also participated in the effort, spearheading local campaigns.
“Fuel Our Heroes“

In their own words:
“Previous generations were asked to fight on the beaches at Normandy and risk their lives to protect those overseas. This is our generation’s war and to do our part, we’ve been instructed to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there are still heroes fighting for our protection and risking their lives on the front lines. Our doctors, nurses, and medical staff are sacrificing everything, day after day, to prevent the proliferation of this virus ravaging cities around the world. Let’s do our part to support our modern day heroes and our fight by providing them with groceries, gas, and personal protective equipment for healthcare workers on the front lines.”

“Fuel Our Heroes” has been fueled by the donations of college kids themselves. It’s designed to meet the needs of medical workers, like gas cards and other donations. They partnered with UCLA Health for 501c3 status.
There are branches of the project popping up in many major cities.

The money raised goes to the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment, gas cards, and groceries for frontline workers.
See a video interview with brother Pritzker and co-founder Alexander Klein that aired on Fox LA

Psi Upsilon is searching for a Director of Chapter Services and Director of Growth – we are looking for candidates who have a passion for the mission and values of Psi Upsilon with experience in leadership development, human resources, higher education or related fields! If you would like to learn more please go to our career page here: https://psiu.org/careers/

Since 2012, the Psi Chapter of Psi Upsilon has developed, and continually expanded upon a career-building program directed at their undergraduates. Conceptualized by Patrick Gilrane, Psi ‘83, the program puts Hamilton’s Psi U alumnus in contact with brothers whom have an interest in the former’s field; through a mentor-apprentice format, the alumni provide insight and one-on-one advice to their assigned mentees, ensuring to mimic a real-world, professional relationship.

The undergraduates develop communicative skills applicable to a job-setting, while simultaneously learning about, and furthermore networking for their desired career path. The program has found such success within the chapter that the college itself has modeled aspects of their career center around it.

The core principles of this program culminate in an on-campus event attended by undergraduates and alumni alike: “Career-Day”. A formal seminar followed by segmented discussions (specified by field of interest) allow for the expansion of skills that have been acquired through the ongoing mentorships. Undergraduates are to assess their resumes, refine their interview skills, and exercise general capability in a professional setting, all while building valuable connections with alumni currently in the workforce. This Fall’s event, led by Nate Harris Psi ‘07, was no exception to the program’s achievement, as the day was highly informative, smoothly run – and, with the typical generational story-sharing, fun for all.

Ed. – Now more than ever our new graduates, young alumni, and undergraduates can use the presence and support of our more experienced brothers.

PsiU.Firsthand.co is also a resource for mentoring within the Psi U brotherhood. You can sign up to be a mentor or mentee here.

The Psi Upsilon Professional Network on LinkedIn is another resource; share your professional accomplishments and post internships and jobs there.

Related Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4339681

https://www.linkedin.com/company/psi-upsilon-fraternity

Welcome to the official website of the Psi chapter of Psi Upsilon!

Lars Delin, Xi ’22 (Wesleyan) worked with other undergraduates at Wesleyan to co-found  Support A Pal to socially support senior citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic. This non-profit venture pairs college students with members of the non-residential Dyckman Senior Center in the Bronx, NY, to facilitate weekly phone conversations in lieu of in-person interaction. Currently, there are 20 volunteers – primarily from Wesleyan University – who speak English, Spanish, or Mandarin, and they are seeking to expand in number and linguistic capabilities. 

Support A Pal was inspired by the lack of accommodations for senior citizens, as these at-risk individuals often struggle with social media communication and tech savviness. However, this endeavour has proven to be beneficial for both sides of the partnership. Volunteers have expressed excitement over shared interests, such as the genius of Billy Joel, and realized how much they can learn from the generations before them.

We first learned about his efforts from this article; http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2020/05/04/students-form-connections-with-senior-citizens-isolated-by-pandemic/?utm_source=&utm_medium=EMLET&utm_campaign=The+Wesleyan+Connection+May+6(2068360

Psi Upsilon service to society and civic engagement on display; Bluebird Distilling (owned by a Psi U) switched to formulating hand sanitizer in late March to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jared Adkins, Sigma Phi ‘08 (St. Francis University), has owned and operated Bluebird Distilling in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania since 2015 (they have since opened locations Center City and Old City as well). In addition to owning Bluebird Distilling, Jared is a founder of the Sigma Phi chapter.

Bluebird Distilling produces award-winning spirits in a variety of categories, with the rye, bourbon, and brandy being particularly well regarded. After seeing the need for hand sanitizer in their community in mid-March, Bluebird has completely retooled operations to produce gallons of World Health Organization recommended formula hand sanitizer, adding peroxide and glycerine to their distilled alcohol. They’ve produced over 1000 gallons, mostly packaged in 5 gallon containers (individual containers are hard to come by right now). A lot of what they’ve produced has been donated from the company to local charities like the children’s hospital and other local emergency centers and services. Bluebird’s Phoenixville Distillery is open. https://bluebirddistilling.com/

We first learned about his efforts from this article; there are some more great quotes from Jared there: https://6abc.com/…/philly-proud-local-brewery-tur…/6093325/…

Psi U Red Leader at the MakeItThrough Alliance creates team to create masks for first responders. Jean-Etienne LaVallee EI’94 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)  lives in Richmond, VA and is also a huge member of the “maker” community there – designers and fabricators who use 3d printing and machining skills to make just about anything. With the onset of the pandemic Etienne and his friends Larkin Garbee, Adam Gainer, Bert Green, & Jeff Rock launched the Starwars themed “MakeItThru Alliance” to produce medical community approved face shields.  Assembled from approved materials in a sterile environment, the Alliance has made over 15,000, starting with a donation of 500 to friends in the Navajo Nation. They have since donated many more to native tribes, extended care and clinical facilities in Virginia and elsewhere. They completed the “Shields Across the Alliance” sprint campaign at their Echo Base Safe Assembly Center in conjunction with Alliance partners in RVA Project Shield   (covid-19 response) and GOODHEALTHTaskForce.

He writes “Our team of only 9 @MakeItThru Alliance volunteer Assemblators produced 4000 units of the “Goodshield 1000” flexible face shield design in less than 4 days! In total, our cross-Alliance effort produced over 10,000 face shields in less than a week which will be on local HCP caregivers heads within the next 48hrs.”

Of the shields produced at Echo Base, 3500 will be heading to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Southside and the remaining units will be going to Bon Secours and other local HCPs. If you’d like to contribute to his ongoing efforts, you can do so here.
MakeItThrough is also a valuable resource if you have question about how to use you maker skills and resources to help medical personnel in your area; contact them at makeitthru@goodworksociety.org

 If you would like to purchase a faceshield while also donating here is their “Good Store” donation shop: https://www.goodworksociety.org/store/c3/GOODSHIELD2000.html

Learn more about their work here !

We are proud to announce that undergrads at the Tau chapter at University of Pennsylvania have donated $1873 of leftover dues to the PHL COVID-19 fund. The PHL COVID-19 Fund provides grants to nonprofits throughout the Greater Philadelphia region that have a demonstrated track record of serving those most at-risk during this crisis, such as seniors, people with disabilities, and those who are experiencing homeless or who are economically disadvantaged. Way to go, Castle!

Picture is from a workshop on Active Listening conducted at the chapter in February.

COVID-19 has forced bookstores across the country to shut their doors for an undetermined length of time, and booksellers across the globe have their livelihoods threatened. Everything from iconic bookstores such as the Strand in New York City or Powell’s in Portland to many many smaller stores must close down operations in order to ride out this viral storm.  Jason Pinter, Xi ’03 (Wesleyan) is using his publishing company, POLIS BOOKS, to help. On June 16th, Polis Books will publish “LOCKDOWN: Stories of Terror, Crime, and Hope During a Pandemic,” edited by Nick Kolakowski and Steve Weddle.  All proceeds from sales of LOCKDOWN will go to BINC, the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit that assists booksellers in need. Learn more about the anthology here https://litreactor.com/news/exclusive-polis-books-announces-lockdown-stories-of-terror-crime-and-hope-during-a-pandemic-cha and pre-order here. https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781951709174

You can join us on May 28th for a Q&A Zoom with Jason as part of out Virtual Speaker Series. Free to all PsiUs, significant others, and friends, register here. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2215881091649/WN_i5F8f5-1SiObccIanILrVA

If you want to get to know a little more about Jason and his work, here’s an excellent interview with him by Ryan Steck https://therealbookspy.com/2020/03/03/hide-away-five-questions-with-jason-pinter/

Psi Upsilon is excited to partner with Phired Up and are providing every undergraduate chapter with full access to their Digital Classrooms for the 2020-21 year to help support every chapter’s recruitment efforts during these turbulent times. Each class is packed with videos, lessons and resources to help brothers learn:

• The Fundamentals: Dynamic Recruitment Principles and the Fraternity Recruitment Funnel
• How to maximize your recruitment efforts with technology
• How to market your chapter (including a sample marketing plan)
• How to grow your names list and fill your prospect funnel
• The art of Social Excellence™ and how to make authentic connections with PNMs
• How to use values-based selection to find the right members
• How to give a bid the right way
• How to systemize recruitment for the future (including an example of a successful recruitment plan!)
• How to Recruit Digitally

In addition we’ve purchased licenses for every chapter advisor for their own digital class which will provide them the tools to best coach the undergraduate chapter and their recruitment needs.

Phired Up is the premiere organization to help fraternity and sorority chapters grow, and Psi Upsilon is excited to partner with them and become one of the first fraternities to offer their digital classrooms to all of it’s members and give brothers the opportunity to become a certified Phired Up Recruiter!

If you would like to participate in a Digital Classroom please download instructions here.