For those of you following along, we have selected the top greek philanthropy events for every month of the 2016-2017 school year starting with September. With May predominately being a slow much due to finals, we have decided to compare the events held from September thru April and make a decision on the top philanthropy events for the 2016-2017 school year. These events raised tons of money and awareness while also demonstrating how greeklife has an overwhelming positive presence on campuses and in the local communities. Here are the top events of the year.
Alpha Tau Omega at University of Illinois - Feed My Children MobilePack
Philanthropy events at the beginning of the year are always hit or miss. Either the host lucks out and people are re-energized from the summer break, or the event falls short because there wasn’t enough time to promote it so early in the school year. In September 2016 the ATO chapter at U of I perfectly executed their Feed My Children MobilePack event which rounded up over 500 volunteers to provide 100,000 meals for children in need. Wow, now that kind of success sets the bar for all greek events for the rest of the year.
Zeta Tau Alpha at The Florida State University – Race to Live
ZTA chapters across the country were no strangers to our monthly rankings. Their work for breast cancer education and awareness is unparalleled. This chapter recently lost one of their sisters and in her honor they hosted their annual “Race to Live.” More than 1,000 runners, including many breast cancer survivors, participated in this 5k race in November 2016. This event did a lot more than just get a whole bunch of people to participate, it raised over $100,000.
Entire Greek Community at University of Michigan – Winterfest
It was impossible to single out just one chapter to be credited with Winterfest at UofM this year, so we gave it to the entire greek community. This broomball tournament featured a 2,800-square-foot ice rink in the backyard of the Pi Kappa Alpha house. Alpha Sigma Phi should also be noted for co-hosting the event. Far exceeding last year’s fundraising amount of $60,000, the February 2017 event was epic. The Autism Alliance of Michigan was the worthy recipient of $110,000 in proceeds.
Zeta Tau Alpha at Auburn University - Big Man on Campus
Here’s yet another example of ZTA being at it again raising money for breast cancer awareness. This April the Auburn University chapter hosted their annual Big Man on Campus event. It is a male pageant in which sororities nominate one contestant per chapter. Some of the awards were “Mr. Congeniality”, “Sexy Legs” and “Zeta’s Favorite”. This year’s event raised $90,000 and, no surprise here, proceeds went toward breast cancer education and awareness.
