Last week, co-ed fraternity Alpha Phi Omega (APO) held a weeklong series of events to spread the word about their organization and to showcase the strong community that keeps the group together. Events were focused on service, fellowship and included a celebration of Black History Month.

Compared to most fraternities or sororities at Grand Valley State University, APO prides themselves on being among the most accessible.

“We are an all-inclusive co-ed service fraternity,” said Casey Renee, president of the executive board of APO. “We welcome all gender identities, sexualities, ethnicities and religions. Our pledge process is non-exclusive.”

Rather than focusing on specific areas of study or service like most fraternities do, APO likes to keep their focus as broad as possible. This attitude allows for many more service opportunities for members.

“In terms of service, we participate in a variety of service projects instead of choosing a specific philanthropy like other sororities and fraternities,” Renee said. “Our club’s main focus is service, so we provide our members with many opportunities to give back to their community.” 

Reflecting their mission, APO is regularly holding events to give back to both GVSU and the Allendale and Grand Rapids communities. These events help APO members find new ways to volunteer and have positive effects on those outside of the organization. 

“Based on our three cardinal principles, we host mainly three types of events: service events, fellowship events and leadership events,” Renee said. 

Those three types of events allow APO to focus on different pillars of the broader GVSU community.

“Service events are any events that promote doing good for others such as passing out food to the homeless downtown and making dog toys for a local shelter,” Renee said. “Fellowship events are social events where members can bond with each other and create friendships. Leadership events are any event that enhances your skills as a leader or advances your education. Many of our leadership events come from workshops that GVSU hosts throughout the year.”

The recent week of events was focused on service and fellowship events. 

“Last week, we made a ton of dog toys out of old t-shirts for the humane society, had a coffee fellowship event and had brothers attend the Black History Month celebration,” Renee said. 

Although last week was busy for APO members, the organization isn’t slowing down anytime soon. They have many more events on the calendar for the rest of the semester.

“Alpha Phi Omega creates these events to serve the brothers, the university and the community,” said APO Treasurer Marie Hosep. “Personally, I’m looking most forward to our event later this month, where we’re making blankets for Project Linus, a non-profit that sends blankets to babies and children in hospitals. I think a lot of brothers are looking forward to that event.”

APO is always hoping to gain new members and grow their community. To keep the organization as accessible as possible their dues are cheaper than other fraternities on campus. However, there’s one unique requirement for new members.

“As a new pledge, you’ll attend informal classes for a six-week period to prepare you for your transition to active membership,” Renee said. “In these classes, you learn about our fraternity, both past and present, and help plan events that will be attended by the rest of our members. Pledges and active members alike are expected to attend different events throughout the semester in order to meet their membership requirements.”

More information about APO can be found on LakerLink or at the fraternity’s website, www2.gvsu.edu/apo/.