Greek life organizations at SRU each have their own specific philanthropic cause ranging from Autism Speaks to Habitat for Humanity to Make a Wish and many others. However, some organizations have their own smaller philanthropies dedicated to a member of their organization. The Alpha Sigma Tau sorority’s charity, Morgan’s Army, was started by the sorority and her family.
Morgan Yoney, 20, is a sister of the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority and has cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a condition where fluid builds up in the lungs, digestive tract and other parts of the body.
Yoney has suffered from cystic fibrosis her entire life and has been fighting it since her family found out she had it when she was nine months old. On Jan. 15, 2010, Yoney received her first double lung and liver transplant.
Her body has rejected the new organs several times and she has been in and out of Children’s Hospital and UPMC Presbyterian Hospital many times. Over this past summer, it was found that the donor lungs she had received in 2010 would no longer work for her.
On Aug. 25, Yoney was put back onto the transplant list to get another double lung transplant. Her condition got worse and due to testing positive for a virus, she was temporarily taken off of the transplant list on Oct. 22, and after her health improved she was put back on the list on Oct. 31.
Morgan’s Army is the philanthropy group Yoney’s family created in order to help her friends and family stay updated with her health. It’s also her support system to give her encouragement and to help fundraise for her impending transplant.
Her sorority has helped greatly with raising money for her transplant through various philanthropic events like spaghetti dinners and ‘Are You Smarter Than a Fraternity Guy?’ However, they are not the only Greek organization who offered their help.
On Sunday Nov. 9, the brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, went into the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority’s chapter meeting. In an act of caring for one Greek life member from others, the brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha decided as a chapter to donate part of their savings, totaling $1,000, to Morgan’s Army to help her transplant fund.
Linda Roldan, 20, is a sister of Alpha Sigma Tau and was at the meeting where the Pikes presented them the check for Morgan’s Army.
“I was so stunned by their act of kindness that I started to cry,” she said. “They definitely became one of my favorite fraternities here. I wanted to hug them all and thank them.”
Erika Pentland, 21, is also a sister of Alpha Sigma Tau who, while not in attendance at the meeting, still felt the brother’s support.
“I got so many text messages and notifications on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram about what was going on,” Pentland said. “One of the Pikes was at the conference with me and I went up and hugged him to thank him for what his chapter did for us. I already liked them a lot, but that just made me like them so much more.”
At the time that this was taking place, Yoney was still recovering from the virus that had temporarily taken her off of the list but took to social media to express her gratitude to the Pikes. Her goal was to get to $10,000 as that is what the transplant will cost once insurance covers the rest, and the $1,000 from Pi Kappa Alpha was a major step toward that goal.
She will still have other medical expenses before the transplant due to breathing treatments and any possible medical complications that come before her transplant.
