Alpha Chi Omega raises money for local charity
Alpha Chi Omega raised money for domestic violence victims Tuesday and Wednesday through its chapter’s annual philanthropic charity, Alphatraz. The event supports the Center for Women and Gender on campus and the Community Abuse Prevention Services Agency in Logan.
With a $2 donation, students can place the names of their friends on a warrant list. After a warrant for their arrest is issued, members of the “Alpha Chi Omega Police” call those on the list and tell them to show up on the TSC Patio any time from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday or Wednesday.
“As soon as each warrant has been paid with a bail of ten dollars, the person in the cell is free to go,” said Mandy LoPatriello, a member of Alpha Chi Omega. “If a person has more than one warrant out for their arrest – say they have five – it will take $50 to bail them out.”
Each year, the money raised is awarded to the same charities. The money goes toward a scholarship for a re-entry student who has been affected by domestic violence.
This event is particularly important to the sorority as a whole because the effects from fundraising can be seen, LoPatriello said.
“It’s not like we’re just giving to a big, national organization where we can’t see the changes,” LoPatriello said. “We’re giving locally and we’re able to see the results of our efforts. We’re very passionate about it.”
The Alpha Chi Omega chapter at USU was one of the first to hold this event, and now it has spread across the United States.
Alphatraz was originally held in the spring, but with the unpredictability of weather, it is now held every fall. The organization has performed this fundraiser for a few years, but it gets more hype every year, so they will continue to do it to raise awareness. The student body enjoys it and gets extremely involved, LoPatriello said.
“We obviously can’t force people to come even if someone has put a warrant out for them, but they’ll have a lot of fun if they do,” said Jacki Johnson, an Alpha Chi senior studying animal science and biotechnical engineering. “I come here and I shake my cup for donations, and it’s funny.”
Students who had been issued warrants stood together in a large jail cell shaking plastic cups for donations as other students walked by. They yelled in microphones and some told jokes.
“I’m from Florida, and the neighborhood across the street from where I grew up had a lot of problems with domestic violence and I knew someone who was affected,” said Nick Denton, a senior member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity studying animal science. “In society, women have to deal with a lot more stuff than men do, so I’ll do as much as I can to help them out.”
LoPatriello said the fundraiser is not strictly for the Greeks. Students in every major, department and club can participate. Occasionally, there are dance-offs from the students in the cell that generally draw a lot of donations, she said.
“Every sorority has their own philanthropy and this is ours, but it’s important because I think it hits home for a lot of us,” LoPatriello said. “It’s just something great that we can be a part of and contribute something to, and it’s fun, so I think it’ll be around for a while.”