The Observer, February 15, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 17
Sororities offer philanthropy events tonight
Have anything to do tonight? If not, and you're looking for a good time and what to help out a charitable cause, two of Case's sororities are hosting their philanthropy events. Alpha Phi is holding their annual Bid for Your Heart charity auction and Kappa Alpha Theta is holding their first ever KATwalk.
Bid for Your Heart is Alpha Phi's annual date auction. Men and women have volunteered to be auctioned off for dates to the highest bidder. According to Jenny Caig, the Alpha Phi who is mainly organizing the event, "Contestants get auctioned off from different campus organizations to go on a date with their purchaser to a local Cleveland restaurant."
All proceeds are going to support the Alpha Phi foundation, which is a national organization that collects money to donate to cardiac care facilities. Two years ago, the foundation donated $50,000 to the Cleveland Clinic for their cardiac care unit. According to Caig, her favorite aspect of the event is "knowing that the money [raised] is going to a great cause that affects so many people."
This year's event will be tonight in Schmitt Auditorium from 7 to 9 p.m. Presale tickets, in Nord and Thwing, are $3 each. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $5.
Also tonight, Kappa Alpha Theta will be hosting their first annual KATwalk. Kappa Alpha Theta is Case Western's newest sorority on campus, founded this past November. KATwalk is similar to the popular show, Project Runway, with each contesting team being asked to assemble a series of outfits for competition. The teams of up to five people each will be creating three looks before the show: Case wear, formal wear and casual wear. Then, at the event, there will be one surprise look for the teams.
According to Pyone Thi, the Kappa Alpha Theta member who is organizing KATwalk, "each team chooses their own music, emcee, and style to strut out for the KATwalk." The Thetas are really excited for this event. "We're just excited that we've already had such positive support from the Greek community and the general CWRU community. In terms of team participation, we have around 20 teams already. And that's without any advertisement of a prize!" said Thi.
KATwalk will be raising money for the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), which was created in 1977. CASA, according to Thi, was founded by "a Seattle judge [who] started using trained community volunteers to speak out for the best interests of abused and neglected children in court. Since then, CASA has grown to over 50,000 volunteers that serve 225,000 abused and neglected children. CASA guardians are members of the community from all walks of life with a common purpose: to make sure that children from abusive and neglectful households are put in permanent, safe homes. They investigate the child's situation, establish a bond with the child, and then advocate for their best interest in court."
KATwalk will be tonight in Carlton Commons starting at 8:30 p.m. Tickets will be $3 in advance and $5 at the door.
