LSU Fraternity Raises Enough Money to Pay off Cook’s Mortgage

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The fraternities at Louisiana State University (LSU) haven't been show in the best light lately.  In fact, a new report from WAFB  has revealed that there have been more than a dozen internal investigations for hazing at the university since December of 2019.  Several groups are part of these investigations, some of which are still ongoing.

That's a lot of bad press, and it threatens to overshadow some of the positive things that fraternities like Phi Gamma Delta (also known as "Fiji") are doing.  According to the Ridgefield Press, this frat has cobbled together enough money to make a huge difference in a very special woman's life.

Jessie Hamilton turned 74-years young on Saturday.  For 14 years, Jessie served as the fraternity's cook - but she was way more than that.  Hamilton was famous for helping the boys out with rides to the grocery store and/or the doctor's office.  She was also close by to help with advice, too.  On top of feeding they guys of Fiji, she was basically a surrogate mother to a lot of them.

Several alums of the frat decided to check on her at the start of the pandemic, and they found out that she was still working 2 jobs to pay off a 30-year mortgage (she still had 18 years to go).  That's when the plan came together.

Alum Andrew Fusaiotti started making phone calls.  When he was done, over 90 brothers had been contacted and they all agreed to chip in as much as they could to help.  According to the report, each member donated somewhere between $600 and $1,000.

On Saturday, about a dozen members of the fraternity surprised Jessie at her 74th birthday party with a check for $51,765 - enough to pay off the house completely.  After all of the hugs and tears, Jessie said that she had planned to work until she had the house paid off - but now, she needs a new plan.  She's thinking retirement and a well deserved vacation to Hawaii.