Last spring, every brother of Theta Chi shaved his head in an act of solidarity for Nexhmi Klobucista, a member who was losing his hair to his cancer treatment.

Klobucista, who was studying exercise science in the School of Arts and Sciences and planned to go into physical therapy, passed away August 12 after six months of battling testicular cancer.

Recently, the brothers of Theta Chi raised $7,430 through multiple cancer-awareness fundraisers to help alleviate the burden of funeral expenses on his family and possibly set up a foundation in his name.

They are currently giving Klobucista's family their space, waiting for them to decide how they would like to use the money.

Nicholas Argentieri, a School of Arts and Sciences senior and president of Theta Chi, emphasized the contributions of other greek organizations on campus, specifically acknowledging Sigma Delta Tau, Gamma Phi Beta, Sigma Kappa, Phi Mu and Sigma Chi.

He remembers Klobucista as an enthusiastic brother who wanted to contribute from the moment he joined the fraternity, volunteering to attend a national conference in January immediately after he was accepted.

"It was only a month after Nexhmi's pledge, and he immediately wanted to become involved," Argentieri said. "It was great because his brother had also been in the fraternity a year ago."

Daniel English, a Rutgers Business School senior and a brother of Theta Chi, said Klobucista was diagnosed early last spring, confiding first in the fraternity's president.

The news was later released to the entire fraternity, and the brothers began to think of what they could do to help, English said.

When Klobucista was in the hospital, the brothers were unable to visit him due to his condition, though they made other efforts to help him feel better and get through the treatments.

One effort involved buying him a Brooklyn Nets jersey with his name on the back, since he was a huge fan of the basketball team, Argentieri said.

They also started an online campaign on Twitter under #PledgeForNexh, and one brother whose family member also suffered from cancer made a YouTube video in support.

People were able to donate openly or anonymously online.

A fund at GoFundMe.com started for Klobucista has raised $7,223 to date, out of the $8,000 goal. The money was raised over the course of four months and 113 donations.

Other greek life organizations contributed immensely as well, such as the sisters of the sorority Sigma Delta Tau who hosted a pancake breakfast that raised more than $1,000, Argentieri said.

The idea was first pitched by Kate Jelaska, a School of Arts and Sciences senior and a sister of Sigma Delta Tau, who heard about Klobucista's fight against cancer from friends in Theta Chi.

Although she had never met him, she felt a connection to his suffering because of a family member of her own who had cancer.

Since the event was scheduled right before finals last semester, Jelaska was worried that other students would be too stressed out to get involved, but she found people were still enthusiastic to help out.

"Everyone was on board," she said. "All the girls were so excited and more than happy to participate."

The event was advertised around New Brunswick and several stores in the area donated pancake mixers, bagels and other supplies.

Klobucista was unable to attend, but sent Jelaska a message expressing his thanks, and how much the support meant to him.

This was Jelaska's first experience with a cancer awareness fundraiser. She was motivated to help a fellow member of greek life because she put herself in Klobucista's place and realized how much it would mean to her to see support from the community.

"I just thought if I were in his shoes, how happy I would be seeing all these people get together for me."