Photo by Maria Urbina
By Jija Dutt
Transcript Reporter
Members of various Greek organizations on campus dedicated their afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 13, to raising over $500 for the children of St. Jude’s Children Hospital.
Sigma Chi fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority held, for the first time, a joint fall philanthropy event.
“(We) decided to work together because we both wanted to do a kickball tournament,” said junior Elise Pitcairn, Tri-Delta’s philanthropy chair. “Both philanthropies would support St. Jude, and Sigma Chi and Tri-Delta have always had a solid bond of friendship.”
For the past two years, Tri-Delta has held a twister competition as their fall philanthropy event.
Pitcairn said her main goal in planning philanthropy events is to ensure the sorority can raise as much money and awareness about St. Jude as possible and “that everyone has as much fun (as they can) while doing so.”
A total of 10 teams participated at this year’s kickball tournament. While most had Greek affiliation, the Delaware Fire Department was a special addition to the list of teams that participated.
Delta Gamma won among the participating sororities, while Phi Gamma Delta won among the fraternities.
Pitcairn said she thought the event’s first time was a huge success.
“There was an overall energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere,” she said.
Adding to the spirit on Fraternity Hill, where the event was held, was the appearance of Dan’s Deli.
Pitcairn said “a lot of Dan’s Deli was consumed” during the event and the money they raised by partnering with the food cart has not yet been added to the total money raised.
Senior John Bieniek, president of Alpha Sigma Phi, said his favorite part of the event was being able to play alongside his brothers and cheering them on as they participated.
He said the fact that a fraternity and sorority co-hosted the event was a plus, since it “probably encouraged more teams to participate.”
Sophomore Jen Luckett, a member of Tri-Delta, said she felt the event was a success and teaming up with Sig Chi “was a cherry on top of that.” She said she thought it was great that the Delaware Fire Department could come out in support of a philanthropy event on campus.
“It just shows the sense of community in Delaware,” she said.
Pitcairn said to her, philanthropy means, “being selfless.” She said it is an opportunity to give back and make an impact that goes beyond OWU.
“It cost(s) over $1.5 million a day to run St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, so every penny we raise is crucial,” she said.