TCU faith-based fraternity Beta Upsilon Chi, or Brothers Under Christ, hosted their biggest philanthropic event of the year, BYX Island Party, on campus this past week.
BYX Island Party is an annual fundraising initiative, and this year the efforts are directed towards sponsoring two families from Refugee Services of Texas, that the fraternity has adopted, Chris Tengler, BYX vice president, said.
“One [of the families] is from Nepal and one from Burma,” Tengler, a junior business information systems major, said. “They have changed our lives, just as much as we have impacted theirs.”
BYX hosted a fundraising sorority sand volleyball competition at the TCU Recreation Center outdoor volleyball courts on Wednesday. Yesterday, a percentage of every dinner sale at the Red Cactus on University Drive went toward the BYX fundraising effort.
BYX also raised money through their sales of t-shirts and tank tops. All the proceeds were directed toward the sponsorship of the two families, Tengler said.
The free concert on Saturday is the biggest part of the BYX Island Party event, Trip Starkey, sophomore English and philosophy double major, said.
Singer/songwriter and former BYX member from its Arkansas chapter, Ben Rector, will be performing at the concert, Starkey said.
Starkey, a member of BYX who helped organize the bands for the event, said Rector was excited to perform at TCU.
Opening for Rector is Seryn, a local band from Denton, Starkey said.
“I’ve seen Seryn play a few times and they’re probably one of the best live bands I’ve seen. They’re along the same lines as Mumford and Sons if that helps kind of get a bearing of where they’re at. They’re really cool guys,” he said.
Starkey said the event was not just to support the refugee families and the fraternity, but to support local musicians as well as entertaining TCU students on a Saturday night.
“It’s cool for us to help them,” he said. “On Facebook right now I think we have 600 or 700 people saying they are going to show up, so getting to a base that is that size and at a college level where their music can spread will be cool to see how it happens.”
Since last year, BYX has been working with Refugee Services of Texas adopting and sponsoring families for a semester, Tengler said.
“We did it all last semester,” Tengler said. “We spoke to the family, we actually raised all the money to put furnishings in their apartment. And we meet them at the airport when they first fly into America.”
According to the official Facebook page for the BYX Island Party concert event, more than 750 people will be attending the concert on Saturday.
Bianca Castro, senior strategic communication major, said she was impressed by the philanthropic efforts of BYX.
“I think it’s really great how they are donating the proceeds to Refugee Services of Texas,” she said. “I think it’s a great cause, and it’s helping out locally which is even better.”
Tengler said the response the fraternity was getting on campus has never been so enthusiastic.
“We’ve never done it this big, but we are excited about where it’s going,” he said.
The BYX Island Party has been a “group effort” by every member in the fraternity, Starkey said .
He said he hopes the hard work pays off, and Saturday will be a great night for all at the Campus Commons where the concert is being held at 8 p.m.
“We have a group of guys who have worked really hard to bring these bands in for the whole university to enjoy,” Starkey said. “We are trying to serve the university through music and fun and giving people a hang out where they can just dance, make friends, listen to music, and at the same time support our efforts and our families.”
BYX Island Party
When: Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8 p.m.
Where: TCU Campus Commons
Free for TCU students
