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October 10, 2001
Iota Sigma's Derby Days Raises Over $3,500 for Charity
The 12th Annual Derby Days philanthropy event, sponsored by the Sigma Chi Fraternity here, came to an end last Saturday, marking one of the most successful years of fundraising in the event's history at Valpo. The event raised over $3,500 for charities this year, with a majority of that money going towards a Children's Miracle Network hospital in New York City.
"Derby Daddy" Dave Manzeske, organizer of this year's event was very pleased with the results. "The week was excellent. Everyone seemed to have a great time and we raised a lot of money for the children in need."
The event has become more than a normal campus fundraiser. The very competitive week of activities pits over 400 female students against each other in various events in order to raise money for charity. Each of the 8 sororities entered a team into the competition while 7 independent teams were formed centering on the female wings of the freshmen residence halls.
For the fifth year in a row, an Independent team walked away as the overall winners for the week. The women from Lankenau Hall 4 South, calling themselves the Rhinestone Cowgirls finished with the most overall points for the week. The freshmen from Alumni Hall 3 West, known as the "Twisted Sisters" secured the second place spot in the Independent Division, while the Alumni Hall "3 East Beasts" took third.
The women from Pi Beta Phi took the Sorority championship for the second year in a row, closely edging out second place finisher Chi Omega and third place finisher Kappa Delta.
"It was one of the closest finishes ever," commented Manzeske. "There weren't many points separating the top three finishers."
The winners of both the independent divisions as well as sorority divisions get to donate a portion of the fundraising totals to the charities of their choice. The Rhinestone Cowgirls chose to donate to the Children's Miracle Network, the preferred charity of the International Sigma Chi Fraternity while the women from Pi Beta Phi chose to donate their share to 'Arrow Mont', an art school in Tennessee funded by the Pi Beta Phi national headquarters.
Derby Days has become a part of the freshman year experience for many of the women on campus. Sarah Krueger, a freshman, enjoyed her first taste of the event this year.
"It was a really fun time, but it also helped everyone from our wing bond together through all of the activities. We got to know each other better and were able to get involved in something for charity. It was a great week."
The competition featured scavenger hunts, a trivia night, a volleyball tournament, a 'penny wars' and various other activities, culminating with an auction on Saturday night, which coincided with the announcement of the winners.
"The Derby Runs were a lot of fun," commented Krueger. "They were a lot of work but definitely worth it when you came up with the Derby."
The Saturday evening auction featured the selling off of each member of the fraternity with all of the proceeds going towards charity. Over $1700 was raised in the auction this year, shattering last year's previous record of $1200.
"We should probably check these ladies' heads," joked Consul, Ryan Wolf. "Obviously they haven't gotten to know some of they guys they purchased." Derby Days is a national event that began in 1933 in California and has spread throughout Sigma Chi chapters all over the country. Since Children's Miracle Network became the organization's preferred charity, over $2 million has been raised for their cause.
Posted by Webmaster at October 10, 2001 05:43 PM