Every year, the brothers of Sigma Pi fraternity host a philanthropy volleyball tournament to raise money for a charity of their choice.

This year, the fraternity picked an organization close to their hearts.

The brothers decided to donate all proceeds from the event to  Operation Homefront, which provides assistance to U.S. military troops and their families in time of need.

Finance junior and Sigma Pi social chair Norman Bird said Operation Homefront was their charity of choice because of personal connections with members of the military.

“We have a lot of guys in our house in ROTC or even in the military now, so we thought the best cause would be Operation Homefront because we’re giving back to something our house is a part of,” Bird said.

Public policy senior and one of the event’s organizers, Taylor Poland, said the fraternity usually switches up which charity they donate to.

“Usually we do military-based charities and we had never done Operation Homefront before ... we feel like they will do the best with what we give them,” Poland said.

The volleyball tournament was open to the public this year but received only greek life participation.

However, marketing and advertising senior and member of  Zeta Tau Alpha sorority Kelly McGowan said she thought opening the event up to the public was a good move for the fraternity to make.

“(The event) is a perfect example of what greek life does that may go unrecognized,” McGowan said.

Fourteen fraternities and 12 sororities formed teams to compete against each other in a single elimination style tournament with games to 15.

Vice president of Sigma Pi and journalism junior Connor Hansen said the turnout for this year’s tournament was the best he has seen during his time as a brother.

“It’s great getting this many people here to raise money for charity,” Hansen said . “It’s a $50 entry and fee and we’re selling T-shirts for $15, so all that money is going to charity and we’re pretty excited.”

McGowan said she decided to participate because she once was the philanthropy chair for Zeta Tau Alpha and wants to continue supporting greek life through as many events as possible.

“As a senior in Zeta, I really wanted to experience these things before I lose my opportunity,” McGowan said. “I think it’s important to support each house and prove to Michigan State University and the greek community what our purpose is on campus.”