Sigma Nu (ΣΝ) is an undergraduate college fraternity that was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlvaine Riley at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia shortly after Hopkins witnessed what he considered a hazing ritual by upperclassmen at the Virginia Military Institute. Sigma Nu's existence remained secret until the founders publicly announced their new society on January 1, 1869, which is the fraternity's recognized birth date. The fraternity has 279 (active and inactive) chapters and colonies throughout the United States and Canada and has initiated over 227,000 members. The fraternity sponsors various programming including ethical leadership development through its LEAD program and philanthropic events through its Helping Hand Initiative. It recruits new members using its Values Based Recruitment method. Sigma Nu prides itself on its anti-hazing principles, upon which the organization was founded and continues to uphold through its anti-hazing initiative. The fraternity's values are summarized as an adherence to the principles of love, honor, and truth. Because of its military heritage, Sigma Nu retains many military trappings in its chapter ranks and traditions, and places importance on the concept of personal honor.