At DePaul, the month of May is a busy time for Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL)chapters and their weeks of service, when each chapter across the country hosts fundraisers for charities they support. As Julia Pouliot sees it, behind the letters, chants and extravagant events, there is a deeper meaning to being involved in FSL.
“I’ve been seeing my sisters support me and their fundraising pages all week,” Pouliot said, head of philanthropy for the Delta Gamma sorority. “The Delta Gammas truly care about our philanthropy.”
Delta Gamma, a sorority with chapters at 150 universities, supports the Service for Sight foundation. The foundation provides support services and housing for those who are blind and visually impaired at five schools across the country
DePaul Delta Gamma philanthropy week was titled “Anchor Week,” deriving from their own symbol, the anchor. The week began with a bake sale and was followed by various events that involved other DePaul FSL chapters giving their time and effort to DG’s cause.
“To keep morale high throughout the week, and to keep things competitive, we have a point system for other chapters’ involvement,” Pouliot said. “Whoever ends the week with the most points gets crowned to be our ‘Anchormate.’”
The “point system” and crowning a winner for the week holds true with other chapters’ philanthropy weeks as well.
Philanthropy week at DePaul’s Pi Kappa Phi chapter is called “War of the Roses.”
“It’s a chance for all of the sororities to compete to be our ‘Rose Queen,’” Matthew Chirco said, Pi Kappa Phi’s head of philanthropy. The winner was announced at their formal on May 25.
Pi Kappa Phi, or “Pi Kapp” for short, is the only fraternity branch in the country with their own originally founded non-profit organization. The fraternity’s foundation is named The Ability Experience, and is dedicated to supporting and empowering those living with disabilities.
Chirco explained that there is much that goes into preparing for a philanthropy week. Between settling locations for events and coming up with creative and involving activities, the set up for the week is not a one-man job. “I know that I can ask any of the guys for help, and they’ll be happy to do it,” Chirco said.
On the surface, the idea of a fraternity “sweetheart” could be seen as simply a pageant competition for sorority girls, but organizers say what goes into the competition and the cause behind it is deeper than the stereotype.
Each chapter that partakes in philanthropy weeks creates events and themes to get others involved. Delta Zeta is a chapter that combines creativity and service to bring out the crowds.
“We try to name our week based on our events,” Maci Calvert said, Delta Zeta’s Vice President of Philanthropy at DePaul. After they opted for a casino night as their main event, they decided to name their fundraising week “Hearts for Hearing.”
The main organization DZ supports is the Starkey Hearing Foundation, dedicated to the education and awareness of the deaf community.
Calvert said that their fundraising and support comes from the other chapters coming to the events. “It’s all about showing up for them when it’s their turn so they do the same for you.”
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