Over the past few weeks, 15 of the College’s 23 Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council Greek houses participated in the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hero Inter-Greek fundraising competition, part of the annual CHaD Hero half marathon and Ripcord 5K. The competition ended Monday and is expected to raise over $100,000, said Ethan Portnoy '14, philanthropy all-American rush co-president. Proceeds from the competition, hosted by PAAR, will benefit the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.
The participating Greek organizations raised a combined total of approximately $50,000 by press time. PAAR’s partner, the nonprofit Positive Tracks, will match the money raised by Greek houses.
In addition to raising money through traditional donations from the community, several Greek organizations hosted campus events to raise extra money, including Alpha Phi sorority’s “Cupcake Warz,” Delta Delta Delta sorority’s brie and apple sandwich sale, Alpha Xi Delta sorority’s grilled cheese sales and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Phi Delta Alpha fraternity’s barbecues. Money raised from these on-campus events was not included in the online fundraising tally.
Portnoy, a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity, said he appreciated participation from Greek houses, with three organizations raising over $5,000 each. In addition, 350 men and women from the College’s Greek organizations participated in the half marathon and 5k walk/run.
Caroline Steffen ’14, Tri-Delt’s philanthropy chair, said her sorority liked the idea of a singular united cause that all students could work toward.
“The excitement sort of sparks everywhere around campus — people get excited for different houses’ events because we’re all in it together,” Steffen said. “In terms of [our sale], the margins could’ve been higher, but in terms of the idea and getting people donating it worked really well.”
IFC president Gunnar Shaw ’14 said in an email that all fraternities voluntarily raised money for CHaD, but the IFC strongly encourages them to do so.
“This represents a great step towards establishing philanthropy as an integral part of the Greek experience,” Portnoy said. “The CHaD half and 5k offers an opportunity for the Greek community to rally around a common cause and make a meaningful difference in a lot of children’s lives.”
Alpha Delta fraternity, which participates in PAAR events every year, raised the most money out of all the Greek organizations for the event. Over 50 members of AD were actively involved in fundraising.
“We have a pretty big brotherhood so I think the numbers added up for us,” CHaD fundraising captain Ross Collins ’14 said. “Luckily, we had some particularly generous family members who supported a worthy cause.”
APhi raised $2,011; AZD, $2,944; Tri-Delt, $3,677; Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, $5,811; Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority, $1,985 and Sigma Delta sorority, $785.
AD raised $9,425; Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity, $3,135; Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, $575; Bones Gate fraternity, $530; Phi Delt, $1,420; Psi U, $8,640; SAE, $825; Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, $2,659 and Theta Delta Chi fraternity, $4,550.
“CHaD has a very effective online fundraising platform, which allows Dartmouth students to easily solicit donations,” Portnoy said. “This plays a large role in helping to harness the full potential of the Dartmouth community’s fundraising efforts.”
Last fall, the College’s Greek community collaborated with PAAR to raise $67,614.81 for CHaD, with over $100,000 raised following one-to-one matching by Positive Tracks. Although this is only PAAR’s second year partnering with CHaD, the College’s Greek organizations have been fundraising via the CHaD Hero Half Marathon or 5k event for several years.
Portnoy said he hopes PAAR will further extend the impact that Dartmouth students have by implementing initiatives that will engage freshmen and sports teams in the future.
PAAR will distribute $5,000 of prize money among houses and individuals through various awards. Prize money from PAAR’s fundraising competition is partially funded by the Dartmouth Investment and Philanthropy Program.
