On a frigid fall day in November, UW-Platteville sorority Zeta Beta Chi went ‘homeless for night’ in an effort to raise awareness and funds for those in need. On Nov. 22 all 25 members of ZBX gathered around a fire in front of their house at 590 Main St. for 24 hours where they raised roughly $630 for Habitat for Humanity and local families in need as well as donations for the local food pantry.

“We had refrigerator boxes that we cut and taped together and made our own little shanty town,” Penny Case, junior history education major and vice president of ZBX, said.

Main Street is one of the most-trafficked streets in Platteville and the members of ZBX were able to generate a great amount of curiosity from the community and therefore awareness.

“Many people looked shocked and surprised when they saw what we were doing,” Caitlyn Connelly, junior chemistry major and president of ZBX, said. The fact that it was one of the coldest days so far this fall made the event even better, Connelly said, because more people seemed to feel bad about us sitting in the bitter cold.

The members of ZBX were surprised by the amount of people who showed up and made donations or just stopped by to support their efforts.

“The police even came by to give us more wood to burn,” Connelly said. “Even people who didn’t have any money to give came, and spoke to us and told us their story.”

“We really want to thank the community for the support in this time where the economy isn’t doing so well; people were still willing to give,” Ashley Carlson, senior criminal justice major and fundraising chair for ZBX, said.

This is a new event for ZBX and because of the success they are hoping to make it an annual fundraiser for those in need. Currently ZBX and the other sororities who are members of United Greek Council are collecting used prom and homecoming dresses to set up a warehouse for underprivileged teens in Grant County in order to make those high school events more affordable for teens. The actual event is scheduled for February but they are collecting from now until then. For more information on ZBX and other Greek organizations on campus stop in the Pioneer Involvement Center in the Pioneer Student Center.