Kappa sleeping out to support the soldiers

Fraternity Kappa Sigma is hosting their sixth annual Sleep Out For The Soldiers event Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will start at 3 p.m. and continue until 6 p.m. on Feb. 22.

The event will take place in front of their chapter house located on 368 Main Street.

The brothers plan to stand outside for 27 hours straight to raise money and awareness for our returning soldiers and their families.

The event started in 2006.

Kappa Sigma has a national partnership with the Fisher House Foundation, and UVM’s Kappa Sigma chapter created this event to further support this organization.

The organization “is best known for a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one in receiving treatment,” according The Fisher House Foundation website.

The Fisher House Foundation served more that 22,000 families in 2013 and over 200,000 since the opening of the first Fisher House in 1991 according to the website.

“It is a cause that is important to a lot of our brothers,” Nick Usen, former president, said. “Many of us have a personal connection through families and friends in the armed services.”

Kappa Sigma members said they hope to continue their trend of increasing their total fundraising more and more each year.

“Raising $10,000 last year was a major accomplishment,” Usen said. “This year we have set our goal even higher at $12,500.”

“We are most looking forward to greater outside involvement and the greater overall interest in the event,” Federico Garau, current Kappa Sigma president, said.

“We are excited that our event has garnered enough attention to persuade more individuals to join us in our sleep out,” he said.

Over 200 Vermont state and local politicians have also been invited to join.

Kappa Sigma hopes to continue to build this event, according to Usen.