Sigma Chi springs to philanthropy work

Home News Sigma Chi springs to philanthropy work

The men of Sigma Chi fraternity are staying busy this spring as they host two philanthropic events on campus.
On Sunday, Sigma Chi hosted a three-on-three basketball tournament that raised $240 for Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness, and on April 9 they will host a student fight night to benefit the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
“We really wanted something local for the three-on-three tournament,” Sigma Chi Philanthropy Chairman senior David Congdon said.
Senior Sigma Chi Corey Voorman has been involved with CAPA since he was a freshman. He said the nonprofit advocacy group was a great cause for this event because of its locality and its mission.
According to its website, CAPA “is dedicated to serving Hillsdale County. Through educational programs, events, fundraisers, and other activities we are working hard to try to make a difference for children and families.”
Teams paid a $20 entry fee to participate. Twelve teams played in 18 games of pool play, and then the final four teams fought for the championship title. “Team Awesome,” made up of freshmen Drew Zwiers, Trey VanAken, and Dave Poljan, was awarded tournament tank tops for their first-place prize. Teams from Chi Omega and Pi Beta Phi sororities enjoyed three games each of pool play, and the ladies Pi Beta Phi won first place due to point differentials.
“Derby Days is obviously our biggest fundraiser, but that only involves Greek women,” freshman Sigma Chi Dugan Delp said. “This event was great because it involved a lot of independents and appealed to a lot of different people.”
After the success of Sunday’s fundraiser, Sigma Chi said they will now focus on planning the upcoming Fight Night where students will wrestle for a cause. The event will benefit Sigma Chi’s national philanthropy, the Huntsman Cancer Institute, through the purchase of $3 to $5 tickets for spectators.
“We’re really excited for Fight Night, it’s a new idea and we haven’t done anything like this before,” Congdon said. “We’ve seen chapters like Michigan State do events like this and we’re still trying to figure out how to do it our own way.”
Sigma Chi has already started recruiting participants from each living residence on campus and have seen positive reactions. They plan to have eight weight classes and two mats: one experienced mat and one amateur mat.
“We want to make it a fun event for everybody to come down and watch,” Congdon said. “We’re going to have a bunch of promotional stuff going on, we think weigh-ins in Saga would be really fun.”