Dear Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity (and the entire Chico State
Greek system),
Life can change in the blink of an eye. One minute you are
going through your daily routine like you have over and over again for what
seems like a lifetime and then one moment whether it is small or significant
can put you on a path that you weren’t prepared for. A few days ago Lowell
Forward, a Chico State graduate, AGR alumni, teacher, husband, father and great
guy experienced this. While working on the roof of a home it gave way on him unexpectedly
and he crashed to the floor breaking the T-4 vertebrate in his spine in the
process. The result from this injury will leave him paralyzed from just below
the chest line for the rest of his life. Now if you know Lowell, this tragedy
will not be treated as a setback but as motivation for the rest of his life. Since
you now know some background on the adversity that Lowell and his family are
going through I want to brief you on the reaction that the Chico State AGR
community has had to the actions that have taken place. A web page though the
crowd funding website “gofundme.com” was set up by a close friend of Lowell’s
named Todd Swagerty with a goal of raising $10,000 for medical costs and
allowing for a ADA remodel of his home. It was quickly posted to a group page
that the Beta Kappa Chapter (Chico State) has set-up on Facebook which purpose
is to get the word out about the goings on at the fraternity currently and
alumni updates, so in other words perfect for the task at hand. Upon seeing this
unfortunate news concerning a fellow alumni I did what any of us would do….Help
a brother in need. When I first viewed the post it was sitting at around $200
in total donation and had been live for about 20 hours. Between working the
phones and the talent that God blessed me with when it comes to the power of
social media and the gift of gab the AGR community along with their mothers,
fathers, friends and family made that number jump to over $6,000 in the matter
of a couple of hours. By this morning that number had grown to the goal of
$10,000 in a few hours and continues to increase with the current money count
at almost $12, 000. This outpouring of monetary support along with the pledges
from brothers who will donate their time, labor and materials needed to make
the necessary changes to the Forward’s home has done something that I thought couldn’t
be done…..I’m speechless. The Greek Community at Chico State continues to take
a beating from Paul Zing and local law enforcement as the “problem” that is
wrong with Chico and the university. We are blamed from issues ranging from alcohol
to crime to lackluster performance in academics. We are called “drinking clubs”
who have no business being part of an institution of higher learning. Paul Zingg…This
is a shining example what the Greek Community truly is. We are a group of men
and women both active and alumni who like our cocktails and fun like the rest
of society but who come together and support our own in a time of need that is
unmatched. I am proud to call myself Greek and to have been part of the Alpha
Gamma Rho fraternity as an active member and now as an alumni. Stay strong Lowell
and know that you’ve got the power of thousands behind you…..Go Wildcat’s!
PS. Peeps, here is the link to the website: http://www.gofundme.com/lowellforward.
Every little bit counts and remember……Paying for your friends last a lifetime.
#Lowellforward #chicostate #greeks #AGR #paulzingg #gofundme
#betakappa #betapilove #empireliving
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