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TKE warms up winter with hot cocoa fundraiser for leadership development

Students purchased hot cocoa in Jamrich Hall to help support the NMU TKE chapter.
GET YOUR COCOA — TKE sets up shop in Jamrich Hall to sell hot cocoa to the NMU student body, raising travel funds for leadership events they plan to attend. (Photo courtesy of TKE)
GET YOUR COCOA — TKE sets up shop in Jamrich Hall to sell hot cocoa to the NMU student body, raising travel funds for leadership events they plan to attend. (Photo courtesy of TKE)

This Wednesday, Jamrich Hall saw a cozy shift in atmosphere as Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) hosted a hot cocoa fundraiser, offering a sweet break from the winter chill while supporting a good cause.

The brothers of TKE gathered to fundraise for a shared purpose. All proceeds from this event were donated to the organization’s leadership fund, which will support a large-scale event this weekend.

“We are fundraising for the chapter’s leadership fund to do more and go on more trips without having to worry about expenses,” said Melvin Garcia, TKE president. “These trips are beneficial in becoming better leaders, and not only within TKE but in the community and NMU as a whole.”

The Regional Leadership Conference, a weekend-long event in Chicago, provides an opportunity for TKE chapters from across the Midwest to gather, build leadership skills and foster meaningful connections with their brothers in the organization.

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Northern’s TKE chapter is no stranger to regularly fundraising around campus, using each event as a valuable learning opportunity.

“Fundraisers like this push us to fund more … we test the waters and see what works, so when we do raise money for St. Jude, we can do even better than this,” Garcia said. “We really do enjoy hosting fundraisers no matter what the cause might be, and we enjoy being able to offer different things to the student body, such as hot cocoa or bake sales.” 

Thanks to the participation of students and staff, the chapter is able to send eight brothers to the conference with reduced travel costs.

“Doing these types of events is one way that we can get more experience raising money for other charities, just being together on days like this gets us closer together especially when it comes to a business sense,” said Jack Martin, TKE member and historian. “It is definitely fun to hang out and sell goods, and you never really know what you are going to get.”

NMU’s TKE members plan to continue their fundraising efforts throughout the year, as their travels are far from over. This summer, they hope to send several brothers to Colorado Springs for the Leadership Academy, a five-day event.

Northern’s chapter has been on a streak for attendance at these conferences for the past five years, and thanks to their fundraising efforts and group collaboration, they will get to make it six.

With winter rush quickly approaching, those interested in learning more or getting involved can find the chapter’s event schedule on the Hub. Additional information is also available on TKE’s Instagram account.

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