Crushing for a Cause

You may have seen some Theta Chi men sitting in the Student Center asking you if you are "crushing" on anyone recently. Why this strange behavior? Are the Theta Chi guys just looking for some single ladies? Sadly, the answer is no. Theta Chi decided to sell cans of Crush soda as part of their efforts to raise funds for their Relay for Life team. 

Relay for Life is the main volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event of the American Cancer Society. Relay events are held in local communities, university campuses, military bases and even in cyberspace! The objective of Relay is to raise money for cancer research and cancer patients. The event is held to spread cancer awareness, celebrate the lives of survivors, remember those who lost their lives to cancer and unite communities in the fight against cancer. It is estimated that Relay for Life events have raised over 3 billion dollars to date. 

Although the Theta Chi men's team will not be participating in cyberspace, their idea of selling cans of the Crush soda was certainly out of this world. According to Michael Pirnie, Theta Chi President, "The Crush for a Crush fundraiser came about because we were looking for a way to reach our goal of raising $3,000 dollars for Relay for Life this year. We had a brainstorming session with all the men in the house and we thought this was a fun idea. The idea is that you send a can of Crush soda to a crush. It's a simple and cheap fundraiser, so we thought it might go well and decided to give it a shot."

However, as Pirnie explained, this was a last minute effort for the Theta Chi team to reach their Relay goal and that is why there was no real advertising campaign and notification that the little fundraiser would be held. "We raised about $50 dollars which is pretty good. Every penny helps. Also people seemed to like the idea, so the fundraiser itself was fun and effective," says Pirnie. 

Theta Chi so far has raised about $2,900; they are hoping to be over $3,000 by the time Relay for Life rolls around, which would make them the top team on campus for the fundraiser. Students, make sure to mark your calendars for a fundraiser on April 15, the night of Relay for Life. Theta Chi and Delta Zeta will be hosting a Relay for Life breakfast at about 1:00 a.m. and all the proceeds will go straight to the Relay for Life fundraising efforts.