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FGCU fraternity helps upgrade Cape LARC home

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Thirty brothers from Florida Gulf Coast University’s Sigma Chi fraternity volunteered their weekend to apply a fresh coat of pain to the LARC building in Cape Coral.
LARC currently houses six men and women with developmental disabilities. It provides the disabled with residential assistance and vocational training.
Besides receiving a $250 donation of paint from Lowe’s on Veteran’s Parkway and $50 worth of mulch from Home Depot, the agency received the donation of labor from the fraternity.
“It’s the biggest blessing,” said Lisa Cronin-Miller, director of community relations for LARC. “It hasn’t been painted in many years. It’s been here for decades.”
Justin Helmus, president of Sigma Chi, said the brothers were donating their time on Saturday and Sunday to complete the task. They wanted to help the community and show that fraternities are more than just partying.
“We wanted to come out and lend a helping hand,” he said.
They painted the building, cleaned gutters, refitted outside light fixtures, cleaned windows, applied new mulch and did some yard work.
FGCU currently has four fraternities on campus. Helmus said that Sigma Chi is one of the newest, but has chapters around the world. They raise funds for other charities on a regular basis, including $700 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Sigma Chi’s next project is to volunteer and raise money at Relay for Life, a major event sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
Cape Coral’s LARC house has been on the receiving end of some other assistance from the community. Recently, the Cape Coral Community Foundation gave $3,000 to the agency to put in wheelchair ramps and expand the driveway at the home.