During an August Blood Source blood drive, the Nu Alpha Kappa fraternity at Sacramento State donated more than 150 hours to Univision, a Spanish-language television station. For its hard work, the fraternity was awarded the Hornets in the Community Award.

NAK, a Latino-based fraternity, earned the first of five Hornets in the Community Award. NAK was awarded by representatives from both Blood Source and Wells Fargo at a Hornet football game on Oct. 24.

Karlos Santos-Coy, Student Activities program adviser for leadership programs, said the $1,000 NAK was awarded was then given to Blood Source. Santos-Coy said Blood Source believed NAK was integral in helping to make the blood drive event successful.

“(The fraternity members) acted as translators and I don’t think Blood Source had any Spanish translators,” Santos-Coy said. “They educated people about blood and bone marrow donations and even entertained donors’ children while donors were giving blood.”

Jose Lopez, senior economy major and president of NAK, said the award the fraternity received makes the members want to continue giving back to the community

“Receiving the award has made us motivated. It makes us want to do a lot more,” Lopez said. “It’s good to get credit once in a while for what we do.”

Angel Barajas, alumnus and former member of NAK, said the the fraternity has been helping with blood drives every year.

“We’ve been doing the blood drive, every chapter of the fraternity, since 1996,” Barajas said. “It’s our national event. In Sacramento, it’s done by the Univision blood drive. They were seeking out help, such as translators who spoke Spanish (and) people to work and go over applications to donate blood. We’ve been doing the blood drive with Univision for the last three years. We registered over a couple thousand people.”

Barajas, who had underwent two surgical operations as a child, said he knows the importance of donating blood firsthand.

“I received two blood transfusions which helped save my life. I cannot help but express my sincerest appreciation for blood drives such as the Blood Source and it’s donors, who take a minute of their day to help save a life,” Barajas said. “In doing so, I am honored to be a part of an organization (that) has made it a priority in partnering with Blood Source to make a difference in our community.”

The NAK fraternity focuses on three pillars as the foundation of their group: academics, culture, and brotherhood. The members said they are committed to bettering both the community and themselves, instead of partying the night away.

“I think this community service award will showcase the fact that the Greek life system cares about the community, participates in the community, and sometimes goes very unrecognized,” Barajas said. “This whole recognition feels good. it gives the public a good perception about fraternities.”

Barajas said the fraternity also works with other organizations, such as a counseling center, as part of their philanthropy.

“Last week, we worked with La Familia Counseling, a non-profit (organization) in South Sacramento,” Barajas said.

Lopez said that the members of the fraternity, mostly alumni, volunteer at different types of events.

“We do events over the summer, like a carnival, setting up a hot dog stand,” Lopez said. “In December, we’re doing a sort of Christmas Caroling thing. It’s all for low-income families to set a positive example for Hispanic kids to go to college; to better their lives.”

Lopez said the fraternity will be giving back to the community again in March.

“We’ll be helping the Bone Marrow Registry next semester,” Lopez said. “People are also donating organs and blood. It goes back to the same (Hispanic) communities. It’s easier to find a match (for blood and marrow) from the same demographic.”

Barajas said that some NAK members who have graduated from Sac State, such as himself, still volunteer at events.

“There’s no difference between undergrad and alums. Alumni participate in this type of annual, traditional community service. They never forget the type of work (and) continue hand-in-hand with undergrad brothers,” Barajas said. “That’s unique. Not a lot of alumni associations are working with undergrads on big events, and there are not a lot of fraternities with an alumni association. We had over 50 brothers coming out, doing community service for eight hours a day for the blood drive. Each year, the turnout becomes greater.”

The Latino-based fraternity has 25 members on campus and welcomes all individuals of different race, culture and ethnicity to join the brotherhood and participate in community service events.