UT sororities are not just a group of girls who make T-shirts for every occasion. The University's chapter of the Delta Delta Delta sorority donated $77,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital as part of the organization's philanthropy.
"We really care about our St. Jude," said Holly Turpin, president of the sorority and a marketing senior.
The sorority hosted two fundraisers in the past year that raised more money than any other Tri Delta chapter in the nation, Turpin said.
The ladies hosted their first event at the Texas Union Ballroom in April. The event, "Delta Fella," required the participation of several UT fraternity members in a male beauty pageant.
This was the first year the sorority put together the pageant. In previous years, Tri Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma had held a chili cook-off. However, because of the difficulty in finding a venue, as well as the liability of alcohol on the premises during the event, the cook-off was canceled. The ladies then decided to hold the pageant, which earned $4,500.
The sorority earned the majority of their funds through a program called "Sincerely Yours." Each member of the sorority was asked to write 50 letters asking their friends and family to donate money to St. Jude. The campaign earned the girls $72,500.
Tri Deltas across the nation are committed to earning $10 million over the next 10 years. The money will go to a new wing at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Chili's Care Center. The new floor will be named after the sorority, and as an incentive, the chapters that earn the most money will have rooms named after them.
Several members in the sorority have taken the opportunity to go to Tennessee, where the hospital is based, and to meet other Tri Deltas, as well as children in the hospital. Tri Delta Vice President Katherine Brown works for St. Jude's regional office in Dallas and had an opportunity to meet some of the patients from the hospital.
"After spending the day with [a patient], I realized how St. Jude impacts families," Brown said. "Parents send their kids to this hospital who might not have a chance at another hospital because of the kind of care St. Jude provides."
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