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Lifetime of Philanthropy
Charley Shirley, Butler ’76, was pleased to find
out after being accepted at Butler University
that they had a Phi Psi chapter. His older brother
Frank Shirley, DePauw ’70, had spoke highly of
his undergrad experience and piqued Charley’s
interest. “I’m not sure what I expected and I
was a bit apprehensive because I had believed
some of the popular myths – too much drinking,
not enough studying and rowdy parties” says Brother
Shirley, “My Phi Psi experience broke all of those
myths. I did drink too much – coffee that is and
studied very hard (we had the highest GPA of any
men’s living unit on campus for many years in
a row). We were a very diverse group in our religious,
political and societal beliefs but still enjoyed
a brotherhood like I had never experienced before
or since.”
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Charley Shirley,
Butler ’76 |
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Brother Shirley’s Phi Psi undergrad experience didn’t
start off like most. When he joined Phi Psi, the 5 year
old chapter recently lost their house and the group was
living in the basement of Ross Residence Hall on Butler’s
campus. “We often felt like we weren’t a ‘real’ fraternity
because we didn’t have a house. As a youth it is difficult
to comprehend the spirit of ‘fraternity’ but looking back
on it now, we had a great fraternity experience! I have
fond memories of friends from the chapter – going to classes,
eating and studying together and attending socials with
sororities on the weekends.”
While at Butler University, Brother Shirley got involved
with Campus Crusade for Christ and served as the president
of the campus chapter before deciding to work for them
full time after graduation. In order to take advantage
of the experience Charley needed to raise $1,260 in
financial support in just eight weeks. “I loved presenting
a need I believed in and asking people to support it
financially,” commented Charley. After moving to Dallas
in 1980 and pursuing his MBA at Southern Methodist University,
thanks in part to a Phi Psi scholarship, Charley met
his first wife, Bev. Five months after being married,
Bev was critically injured by a drunk driver, clinging
to life for six days in a comma before succumbing to
her injuries. “I was devastated. I had to drop out of
my MBA program and was saddled with $40,000 in hospital
bills.” Later, Charley went to work for a financial
planning firm and learned how to help people plan their
financial futures.
After completing his MBA and working in the corporate
financial planning sector for five years, he returned
to the non-profit sector and became the chief financial
officer and chief development officer for the Fellowship
Bible Church in Dallas. For Charley, it was very rewarding
for him to be back in an environment where he got to
present financial needs and a vision for the future.
He then worked for the YMCA in Milwaukee and currently
works as the Executive Director for the Wheaton Franciscan
Healthcare system in southeastern Wisconsin.
While he does not keep in touch with as many Phi Psis
from Butler as he would like to, he did return for his
25th year reunion in 2004. When asked what the most
rewarding aspect of his work was, Brother Shirley said,
“There are few greater joys than to find a donor who
is excited about giving to a cause they are deeply committed
to. People want to have a sense of being apart of something
larger then themselves. The literal meaning of philanthropy
is love of mankind. My job which includes connecting
the right donor to the right cause at the right time
allows me to have a front row seat to wonderful acts
of people loving their fellowman. This is a lesson I
learned early in my Phi Psi journey – the great joy
of serving others.” |
