The brothers of Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity at The College of New Jersey spent time in Trenton, distributing food and talking to those they helped.
Fraternities get a lot of bad press.
Remember "Animal House"? The 1978 comedy made John Belushi a mega-star while offering us a behind-the-scenes view of the mayhem and mischief committed by the brothers of the fictitious Delta Tau Chi.
It wasn't pretty. Chugging a fifth of Jack Daniels and running around in togas became everybody's idea of what Greek life looks like on the nation's college campuses.
There are 10 families in Trenton this week whose members have a totally different take.
The brothers of Lambda Theta Phi Latin fraternity at The College of New Jersey raised enough money to buy $800 worth of food, which they distributed to needy families - many of them single-parent households - throughout the city.
The funds came largely from the brothers themselves, who took their act of kindness to the next level by meeting with each family. Face to face, they shared advice and prayer, and chatted a bit about what the fraternity is all about.
The activities were part of a wider program called Lambda Giving Day, now in its second year and involving chapters of the fraternity throughout New Jersey, Connecticut and Eastern Pennsylvania.
Fraternity gives worth of food to Trenton families
Before heading out to deliver the food, the young men gathered beneath a sign proclaiming "Making Contact to Make an Impact," and that's exactly what they did.
For TCNY graduate and fraternity brother Billie Aponte, it was personal.
The son of a single mother, Aponte said he felt a connection with the families the project reached out to, and understands all too well what it means to count nickels and dimes. Many of the other brothers in the fraternity grew up in inner cities, he noted.
Eight hundred dollars buys a lot of food: canned goods, juice drinks, eggs, tuna. But Lambda Giving Day does more than fill refrigerators and pantries.
It creates a campus culture that emphasizes the notion of giving back - and giving hope.
When every day is a struggle, when you're living from paycheck to paycheck wondering if you can cover that month's rent and still have enough left over for the antibiotics the baby needs, seeing a smiling face at your door brings a shot of adrenaline.
"It touches my heart to see that we're giving single mothers joy," Aponte told NJ Advance Media's Anna Merriman.
The students and alumni who took part in this important act of charity have much to feel proud of.
Take that, John "Bluto" Blutarsky.