Heading into college, Brother Jesus Ortiz (UWW, ‘27) was determined to make an impact. He had a dream to positively influence the lives of others and when backed by his Brothers, he was able to make that dream a reality.
When Ortiz arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater his freshman year, he found it hard to meet new people and make friends as a commuter who didn’t live on campus. To make connections, he attended the campus involvement fair that fall. This is where he met his future Lambda Chi Brothers. The philanthropy aspect of the Fraternity stood out to him the most, because he saw this as a way to make an impact.
Knowing their devotion to community service and connection with the American Red Cross, Ortiz was eager to learn more about the Lambda-Iota Zeta Brothers. He later attended one of their recruitment events. Not sure what to expect, Ortiz was nervous. But when he approached the chapter house, the Brothers welcomed him with open arms. Ortiz was able to be himself and grew more and more comfortable with the Brothers, opening the pathway for him to become more involved.
Feeling more at home at Whitewater, Ortiz was ready to start creating positive change in his community. He came up with the idea to donate Santa hats during Christmas time to the Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, what he called “Hats of Hope”. The project started small, with Ortiz reaching out to past connections with his high school, friends, family and local businesses. Eventually, he was able to raise around $600 and made the Santa hat donation to the hospital. Ortiz didn’t stop there.
With time and rapport under his belt, Ortiz was ready to take on “Hats of Hope” again, but with an even larger impact. This year (2024), he started planning in September, earlier than the previous year. He also increased the number of hospitals to which he wanted to donate, with donations differing for each. His goal was to donate hats to the Children’s Hospital of Madison, crayons, Hot Wheels and coloring books to Milwaukee and leftover dollars to other organizations.
Ortiz proposed “Hats of Hope” to his Chapter, and it was an instant yes. From then on, he and his Chapter did everything they could to complete their goal of raising $3,000. They put out online advertisements, hung flyers around campus, collaborated with other Greek organizations and more.
Help from his Brothers and the Whitewater community made all the difference. With all of their efforts, they surpassed the goal and were able to make the planned donations to the Children’s Hospital of Madison and Milwaukee.
The Brothers at Whitewater, like Ortiz, truly have a passion for service. They are always willing and eager to help others.
“They were excited,” Ortiz said. “I saw a fire in my Brothers that could not be described in any other way. They wanted to do good.”
With yearly success, “Hats of Hope” has blossomed into “Hope for the Holidays”, covering a range of donations and hospitals near Whitewater. Ortiz is prepared to take the project to another level in 2025 and hopes to continue serving as an example to his Brothers and community.
