Gammas kick off for 'Concert for the Cure'!

As mentioned in my previous blog post, community service is a under recognized, but highly important, aspect of the Greek organizations at Trinity University; each club having its own ‘signature cause’. For Gamma Chi Delta, this cause is raising funds for cancer research and our huge service event for the year is “The Concert for the Cure”. This event was started by an old active member named Amy Walton who overcame childhood cancer. Amy used this as motivation to establish The Concert for the Cure Foundation which dedicated its revenues to The American Cancer Society. The first concert, in 2006 was in held in Mabee Dining Hall on campus, the next year it was the Tigers Den. But last year, the concert was made a massive leap in its magnitude and popularity and was held at Sunset Station – a trendy spot downtown. On a cold, February night, hundreds of Trinity students and San Antoinians gathered to hear The Eli Young Band play; all the proceeds went to the cancer cause. To this date, The Concert for the Cure Foundation has donated over $33,000 to the American Cancer Society!

This year, Gammas are getting ready for ‘Concert for the Cure’ already, beginning fundraisers to pay for the venue, the band, and the night of fun! Last Thursday Gammas held the ‘Kick off for Concert for the Cure’ party at Tycoon Flats – a popular bar just two blocks south of Trinity. Tons of Gammas, rushees, and friends attended with a small fee of $5 (which could be paid with Tigerbucks, of course!). All the proceeds went to the Concert for the Cure Foundation. Of course, the night was about philanthropy, but it was also a blast. Tycoon Flats had a band of their own performing while students met, mingled, and danced. This kickoff party was a great way for Gamma Chi Delta to show their serious dedication to the American Cancer Society and to have a good time doing it.


A gamma PC '08 member, Ann Wist, posing with
the band that played at Tycoon Flats the night
of the 'Concert for the Cure Kickoff Party'.

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Gammas Join 'Team Emma'

To any independent-college student at Trinity University, Greek clubs on campus may seem like just an excuse for a group of stuck up adolescents to drink and party. But the Greek system is also a way to get involved in the community through volunteer activity and last weekend Gamma Chi Delta, as well as other Trinity sororities and fraternities, joined the Phi Delta Kappa sorority in their largest service event of the academic year; the Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease. This cause is especially important to Phi Delta Kappa because one of their members, Emma Hutchinson, lost her battle with PKD in 2008. Since then, they have dedicated their volunteerism towards the PKD Foundation focusing on the annual Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease in San Antonio.

The event this year took place a Breckenridge Park at the painfully early hour of 8:00a.m. Despite the urge to press 'snooze' on our morning alarm clocks, nearly all 75 Gammas were at Breckenridge Park ready to walk the 1km route in order to raise money, awareness and spirits.

The event itself was a show; different booths were set up for registration, to provide breakfast, and there was even a DJ to get us ready to walk! Team Emma, which comprised of over 150 Trinity Students (almost 1/2 were Gammas), stood under the starting line for a picture with Emma's parents and her grandmother who had given one of her kidneys to a new-born Emma to save her life. The ceremony before the walk began was truly inspiring. A woman gave a speech about her personal battle with PKD, revealing how thankful she was to see such support for a foundation which provided the funding for her live saving kidney transfer.

The walk began and ended in under 20 minutes, but the time I and my sorority sisters gave up to not only support a great cause but support fellow Greeks on campus was much more rewarding. The Walk for Polycystic Kidney Disease was something Gammas were so proud to be a part of!

This is all of 'Team Emma' at
the starting line- the Gammas are in green!
(Picture and Permission by Paige Ottoson)