Chapter Spotlight – Beta (Northwestern)
Chapter Spotlight on Beta (Northwestern)! The chapter hosted a paddle raise at their Red Dress Gala that helped them raise enough money to fund their AED. Olivia Reiner tells us how they made it happen.
Event Name: Red Dress Gala
Location: Carnivale, Chicago, IL
Tell us a bit about the event.
Each year, our chapter invites parents and alumnae to enjoy hors d’oeuvres, bid on various silent auction prizes and hear from a speaker on the importance of giving back to the Foundation.
What made this year’s event special?
This year’s event took place at Carnivale, a beautiful restaurant in downtown Chicago. Our guests had a blast at the colorfully-decorated venue. We also hosted a trunk show with jewelry designer Kendra Scott at our event and 20% of their profits for the night benefitted the Foundation. We were also lucky enough to get merchandise donations from OPI and Enjoy Life Foods to give our guests thank-you gifts following the conclusion of the event.
How did your very first paddle raise go?
We were incredibly excited to raise $10,000 from the paddle raise alone. We raised roughly $20,000 for Alpha Phi Foundation from the event, an unprecedented amount for our chapter and a number that would have been unattainable without the paddle raise. We’re glad that we tried it out this year and will work to tailor it to fit our event so that it’s even more effective next year.
Why was it so important for your chapter to raise funds for your AED?
Having an AED in our house not only benefits the Beta chapter, but it also helps the rest of our Panhellenic community on campus. If a sorority woman goes into cardiac arrest in her house, our chapter will be able to provide an AED to help assess and treat the emergency. Because our chapter can bring an AED home, we are helping the larger Northwestern community.
What would you suggest other chapters do who are trying to raise funds for their AED?
Educating our guests was very important in the success of raising money for our AED. Our speaker, Elli Brodsky from Alpha Phi Foundation, shared with our guests of the importance of having an AED in the house. The more a chapter can get their guests to understand how an AED benefits Alpha Phi women, the more success they’ll have in their endeavor to raise money.
Click here to learn more about the Alpha Phis Heart AEDs campaign to provide an AED for every Alpha Phi chapter.