WESTMINSTER, Colo. — With student debt bills mounting for many borrowers, a local chapter of a historically Black fraternity is hoping to give recent Denver-metro high school graduates a financial boost.
On Friday, the Chi Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. will host a golf tournament at the Greg Mastriona Golf Course at Hyland Hills in Westminster to raise money for scholarships.
“We have the Holmes Omega Scholarship Foundation Golf Tournament that we have been running for a number of years now. I've been involved the last seven or eight years, and our goal is actually to raise funds for our scholarship foundation,” Wilburn “Chip” Boykin, the golf tournament chair, said. “There is a scholarship that we hold for them, for one of the students, that continues on for the entire four years. And then we have individual scholarships that are just for one year.”
The scholarships are worth between $10,000 to $12,000, according to Greg Labrie, the Clarence F. Holmes/Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Memorial Scholarship Foundation chairman. The foundation was created to give financial help to students of color.
“The four-year scholarship that we give is targeted to African American male students, but the one-time scholarships that we give annually as well is open to both male and female, and students of color,” Labrie said.
Labrie and Boykin said, while fraternities are often highlighted for their social offerings, this event is about uplifting the community.
“The portrayal of, particularly the African American fraternities, has always been on the social aspect... we feel like this is an avenue that we need to do, because we need to be able to put this out in the community, show that you know, this is something for our youth. This is the image that we want to portray. And it's not just about the party,” Boykin said.
The name of the scholarship foundation pays homage to the fraternity chapters deep history and commitment to the Denver community, Labrie said.
“The local chapter here, Chi Phi chapter, was established in 1927 by Clarence F. Holmes, who our scholarship foundation is named after. He was the national president, he went to Howard University, went to school with the founders, moved out here as a dentist, established and chartered a chapter in 1927. We have been part of this community now for 97 years. We're looking forward to our 100th in 2027, so it's not like we're a fly by night organization,” Labrie said.
Registration for the golf tournament can be completed online. On-site registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and the tournament officially starts at 8:00 a.m. on Friday.
