The money will be split between two local organizations WISE, a Lebanon-based charity that provides services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and the Vermont Community Foundation for Hurricane Irene relief, Lu said.
Psi Upsilon fraternity was the most successful, raising $4,038.42, followed by Alpha Delta fraternity with $4,031.79, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity with $3,3357.46 and Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority with $1,825.35. Because the minimum of $4,800 required to qualify for the first prize was not reached, the prize money of $1,500 will be split between the charities, Lu said. The second and third prizes of $1,000 and $500 will be given to Psi U and AD, respectively.
Despite its third place finish overall, Phi Delt raised the most money per capita, with $44.18 per member. Psi U member Luke Suydam '14 was the most successful individual fundraiser, raising $1,433.42, AD member Siegfried von Bonin '14 raised $1,310.80. Psi U member Ethan Portnoy '14 raised $1,215 and Phi Delt member Zachary Moskow '14 raised $773.22. As the four individuals who raised the most money, they each won one round-trip economy class plane ticket from Boston to Miami during spring break. The PAAR coordinators of the two winning houses, Matt Stumpf '12 of Psi U and Michael Schwartz '12 of AD, will also receive prizes.
WISE Executive Director Peggy O'Neil said that WISE will use the donations to continue to work in the Upper Valley community, providing services to people affected by sexual violence and education outreach in collaboration with the College.
"This donation was completely unexpected, and we are so happy," O'Neil said.
Vermont Community Foundation's Senior Philanthropic Advisor Tom Roberts also welcomed PAAR's assistance.
"We were thrilled when [Lu] reached out to us by email and wanted to make a contribution to [Vermont Community Foundation], which has been very active with relief for Tropical Storm Irene," he said
Members of the Class of 1969 also donated $2,500 to PAAR during Homecoming weekend specifically for the Vermont Community Foundation, according to Lu.
"They demonstrated, in true Dartmouth spirit, that alumni truly care and there really is a tradition of fundraising within the community," he said.
PAAR director of communications Julia Harvey '13 said that "each house had the freedom to decide on their individual fundraising strategies they faced the challenge of how to devise the most effective fundraising methods within a short period of time."
Fourteen houses actively raised money for PAAR, with initiatives including a Halloween potluck dinner, barbecues, grilled cheese, burger and Nutella sandwich sales, cash donations, fundraising through www.firstgiving.com and a Karaoke night.
AD's "biggest single event" raised $1,000 through a barbecue open to the entire campus featuring free food and performances from the Aires and improvisation group the Dog Day Players, according to Schwartz, the vice president of service and PAAR coordinator within AD.
The Greek Leadership Council and PAAR executives awarded Psi U the $300 cash prize for the most creative fundraising idea by a house for its "Halloween insurance" in the Norwich and Hanover area. Psi U members offered local houses a variety of services such as Halloween decoration removal and cleaning up of properties that had been egged.
"A surprising number of people really loved it," Ian Schneider '14, who helped coordinate Psi U's efforts with Suydam and Portnoy, said. "It was a good, quick fundraiser, and we raised roughly $400 within four hours."
Suydam also said PAAR was a good way for the Greek system to use community service to improve its public image.
"When we were doing a fundraiser in Hanover, we realized that a lot of the residents had a very negative outlook on fraternities several did not receive us well at all," Suydam said. "However, the people who did take the time to listen to what we were saying seemed to gain a greater respect for us and for the Greek system itself."
Lu said he was inspired by the annual Prouty Century Bike Ride and Run fundraiser for cancer research. The Prouty, sponsored by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, is an example of a method used to channel the competitive ethos of the Greek system, according to Lu.
"I thought that the competitive element was absolutely necessary because the Greek system is inherently competitive," Lu said. "I realized we could harness this energy for philanthropy. The idea of introducing philanthropy during rush means that giving back to the local community is one of the first things members do."
Although PAAR was introduced to encourage incoming members to see philanthropy as fun, it was by no means solely a pledge competition, and all the members within participating houses involved themselves, Harvey said.
"In general, Dartmouth students care, and PAAR provided bonding time for members while they worked for really great causes," she said.
Trevor Chenoweth '12, GLC moderator and Phi Delt's PAAR coordinator, said that even though Greek organizations have always participated in service projects, PAAR was successful because it occurred during a period when houses have many new members to help with those projects.
"With an incoming pledge class, it is important to have goals to work towards, for everyone to unite behind something," Chenoweth said.
Harvey said the "greatest challenges when implementing the project was spreading the word and creating momentum throughout the entire school."
"The initial strategy involved placing posters in high traffic locations such as Novack, Collis, the gym, and also asking each house's president to blitz out, but we found the most effective way to tackle the communication challenge was through PAAR coordinators," Lu said.
All representatives interviewed by The Dartmouth said they hoped PAAR would continue in future years and encourage the Greek system to continue to support philanthropic programs.
"What I really like about PAAR is that it supported local organizations, so we can reach out to Hanover and the greater Upper Valley community and make a difference," Schwartz said.
