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Sororities think pink to benefit breast cancer awareness

Posted on Feb 08, 2010 in News

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Sororities all over campus have been competing in a friendly competition to raise money and bring attention to the Friday, Feb. 12 game between the women’s basketball team and the University of Central Florida (UCF).

For the game, Bartow Arena will be transformed into the “Pink Zone” for a special fundraising game to raise awareness for cancer and money for the Gene Bartow Cancer Research Fund.

Delta Gamma held a bake sale in the HUC last week for three days, selling a variety of treats, from cookies to brownies.

One of the bake sale volunteers, Delta Gamma’s Paige Piznar, said the fundraising effort is important because “as women, we all relate to breast cancer. We want people to care about it and be aware.”

“All of us have a friend or grandmother that’s been affected by this disease. It can affect all women everywhere. As an organization that’s all about women, a sorority, [and] the sisterhood of women, it’s important to us to take that beyond our sorority and out into the real world,” she said.

Another one of the bake sale volunteers, Susie-Hannah Williams, said she felt the event was appropriate due to the sorority’s own history with the disease.

“We have a lot of family that has had cancer, so they come and help us,” said Williams.

Alpha Xi Delta, another sorority, has also been participating.

According the Reilly Johnson, philanthropy chair, the sisters of Alpha Xi have been traveling through the greater Birmingham area, collecting items to be included in the silent auction.

“We also are accepting monetary donations to be given to the research fund,” Johnson added.

“We were approached with the opportunity by the director of the event and thought it would be a great way to get involved. Cancer awareness is extremely important, so the opportunity to increase understanding was something that we could not pass up,” said Johnson.

As for the competition aspect between the neighboring sororities, Johnson thinks it’s a good idea.

“It’s a great way to get things accomplished. We all love competing, especially with each other. [There’s] nothing better than a little friendly competition to benefit the greater good,” she said.

Another sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, chose to do their part by collecting donations and gathering baskets together for the silent action that will take place before the game.

“We have a lot of different connections on campus that other [organizations] may have not been able to connect with, so I think utilizing our numbers helps the cause,” said Katie Lyle, president of Alpha Gamma Delta.

The game will not only be bringing new awareness to the Birmingham community, but also pay a special tribute to those who have lost the fight against cancer.

“During halftime they actually take a moment of silence for all the people that have survived and those who didn’t win the fight [against] cancer,” said Erin Cheng, vice president of campus relations for Alpha Gamma Delta.

Cheng, whose own mother has battled with breast cancer, feels like dealing with the disease on a personal level makes the cause all the more worth fighting for.

“It really drives us to make it a priority on our list,” she said.

The Pink Zone game begins at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6 p.m.

The Birmingham community and UAB family are invited to attend this special to help fight cancer and raise money to further those efforts. Free UAB T-shirts and shakers will also be distributed to the first 500 fans.

Email: sgwhite@uab.edu

 




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