Penn State fraternity launches fundraiser to help members relocate after house fire
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- Alpha Zeta, a national professional honorary agricultural fraternity, launched a GoFundMe.
- The campaign has raised more than $5,000 toward a $9,000 relocation goal.
- Fire damaged the third floor, attic, and caused water damage throughout the house.
A Penn State fraternity has launched an online fundraiser to help relocate its members after a fire severely damaged the chapter house on campus last week.
The Alpha Zeta fraternity set up a GoFundMe campaign to help its members relocate after the July 9 fire damaged the third floor and attic and left water damage throughout the house at 360 N. Burrowes St. The fire has displaced members who anticipated living there in the fall, the campaign stated.
“Without common living areas to be able to prepare and serve food, as well as the spaces where members study together, mentor one another, and build lifelong friendships, the chapter has lost far more than just a place to live,” the fraternity wrote on the page.
In a social media post, Alpha Zeta thanked Alpha Fire Company and other responding departments for their work battling the blaze, but noted that the damage to the house is “substantial,” and that repairs are expected to take a significant amount of time.
The campaign has raised more than $5,000 since it was created Friday, surpassing the halfway mark toward its $9,000 goal to help fraternity members relocate.
“Alpha Zeta hopes you will support our members financially in efforts to relocate them, so that they can continue to pursue their academics and achieve high scholarship at Penn State,” the fraternity wrote.
The fraternity house was unoccupied for the summer and undergoing construction when construction workers called to report a fire that began in the attic, Shawn Kauffman, Centre County regional fire protection director told the Centre Daily Times last week. No injuries were reported.
The fire took about an hour to control, with firefighters facing heat-related and accessibility issues due to its proximity to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, which was unaffected, except by heavy smoke in the area. No further information on the exact cause of the fire has been released but the Centre Region Fire Marshal has deemed it unintentional after conducting an investigation, the fire company posted online.
After the fire was extinguished, fraternity members and advisors returned to the property to recover memorabilia and other valuable items while chapter members were notified of the damage.
“Several alumni and active members worked hard to retrieve many of the historical items and composites. They are being stored safely and will be assessed for damage and restoration,” Alpha Zeta wrote in a social media post.
Alpha Zeta, a national professional honorary agricultural fraternity, was established at Penn State in 1898. Its house on Burrowes Street, built in 1915, is the second-oldest fraternity house in University Park, according to the fraternity.
You can contribute to the GoFundMe campaign by visiting https://gofund.me/e89917982.
