Phi Mu sorority alumnae and Delta Tau Delta fraternity members partnered together Wednesday to continue a philanthropy tradition the women of Phi Mu started.
“Pizza Palooza is something that a lot of the girls wanted to keep doing, so I’m just happy that the (men of Delta Tau Delta) were willing to help us see it through,” senior Shavon Brown said. “They were a big help.”
Pizza Palooza is an annual all-you-can-eat pizza feed for students and community members to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network. Normally the event took place at the former Phi Mu sorority house, but with the help of fraternity members, the women of Phi Mu continued the event at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house.
Despite the permanent suspension of operations for the Zeta Alpha chapter of Phi Mu, the Phi Mu alumnae still attending BU wanted to continue to support their philanthropy, Children’s Miracle Network.
“We still want Children’s Miracle Network to know, we still want (the Phi Mu Fraternity National Council) to know, we care,” Brown said.
The Children’s Miracle Network is an organization whose mission is, according to its website, to “help as many children as possible by raising funds for children’s hospitals” and “keep funds in the community in which they were raised to help local children.”
“Everybody needs a little help sometimes … it’s nice to know that we can help (the families) and help the kids because every kid deserves to have a great childhood,” junior Katie Reed said.
The 26 pizzas at the event were donated by restaurants, meaning 100 percent of the money raised at the event will go directly to the Children’s Miracle Network and Delta Tau Delta’s philanthropy, juvenile diabetes research.
“I think we called just about every single pizza place in Lawrence, Baldwin City and Ottawa,” freshman Ryan Good said.
Pizza wasn’t the only offering for students at Pizza Palooza. Students could donate $1 to receive two raffle tickets for a drawing to participate in Pie-a-Phi or Deck-a-Delt. If their ticket was pulled, that person got to pie the Phi Mu or Delta Tau Delta member of his or her choice.
Good and Reed worked together to pull off the joint philanthropy event. The event raised roughly $225, or about $112 for each charitable organization.
“We were just really excited and glad that they were interested in having it,” Reed said. “It’s nice to raise money for two philanthropies at one time.”
