Staff Writer: Laura Thompson
This past week, the chapter of Chi Omega on campus hosted a fundraising week with several events for their philanthropy.
The sorority’s philanthropy is The Make-A-Wish Foundation. The two organizations, Chi Omega and Make-A-Wish partnered together in 2002. Since the partnership, Chi Omega chapters have raised more than 26 million dollars and volunteered 1.2 million hours.
The week started on February 3rd with a pop-up shop with local boutique, Aria and Brin. The owner of the shop, Taylor Powell, agreed to donate 15 percent of the proceeds from that night to Make-A-Wish on Chi Omega’s behalf. She set up all her merchandise in the Batte Center Rotunda and girls started shopping as soon as the doors opened at 5:00 p.m.
“Our event with Chi Omega for Wish Week was incredibly special. I was honored that I was given the chance to bring my business to campus for the night and that I was able to donate 15% of sales from the event to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.” stated Powell.
Chi Omega raised over $200 from the pop-up shop. The chapter’s philanthropy chair, Kylie Somerville, also organized several other events including a percentage night at Chipotle, a raffle, and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, Swishes for Wishes. The tournament event was postponed due to the weather and the tornado watches that occurred on Thursday. You can follow Chi Omega on Instagram for updates about the event details.
“Our first Wish Week went great! We had the opportunity to raise a lot of money for The Make-A-Wish Foundation and came closer to granting another wish as a chapter.” said Somerville.
Chi Omega hopes to grant another wish within the next year. It takes $6,000 worth of fundraising to grant a wish. Once a chapter has raised their goal, The Foundation matches their contribution and matches the chapter with a child. The last wish that Chi Omega granted on Wingate’s campus was in Fall 2018. They had previously granted three wishes before that.
Somerville, along with the rest of the chapter, wants to make Wish Week an annual event that the greek community and the students on campus can get excited about each year. The sisters wanted to thank everyone for their support this year.
You can donate to Make-A-Wish anytime. You can do it through Chi Omega’s philanthropy chair or make sure and attend any fundraiser events they are hosting on campus.
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