Sorority raises $8,038 for Katrina aid

Alpha Xi Delta sorority members (seated, from left) Marissa Neuman and Kristin Schrumpf; and (standing, from left) Sara Satullo, Kelly Murphy and Natalie Gempesaw-Pangan

3:49 p.m., Sept. 29, 2005--Members of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority, in conjunction with 11 Newark restaurants, raised $8,038 for victims of Hurricane Katrina in a daylong benefit that took place Thursday, Sept. 15.

Relying on perceptive market research and help from the Downtown Newark Partnership, the 94 members of the sorority turned the habits of their peers to good cause by garnering sponsorship from popular Main Street eateries and then sending the collected profits from the dining benefit directly to the New Orleans chapter of the American Red Cross.

“When we reflected on what we could do to support Katrina victims, we came up with the idea of involving area restaurants, because that seemed like a very good way we could raise money,” Alpha Xi Delta President Marissa Neuman, a senior from Baltimore, said.

“We knew that a lot of people from the University tend to go out on Thursday evenings to eat, and we thought that local restaurants might be interested in participating in a fund-raiser,” she said.

Members of the sorority moved quickly with this plan, drawing up publicity flyers and canvassing area restaurants with face-to-face proposals.

“It was tough timing, because we’d just gotten back to school when Katrina hit, and our first sorority meeting wasn’t until Sept. 11,” Kristin Schrumpf, a senior from Ridgefield Park, N.J., and Alpha Xi Delta vice president of public relations, said. “But, we hung flyers and sent e-mails to all the presidents of other sororities and fraternities, and word of mouth traveled very quickly.

Maureen Feeney Roser, Newark’s assistant planning director and administrator with the Downtown Newark Partnership also was helpful in getting the word out.

Alpha Xi Delta’s two chairpersons of philanthropy, Sara Satullo, a senior from Lafayette Hill, Pa., and Natalie Gempesaw-Pangan, a junior from Albuquerque, N.M., were especially active in spearheading and organizing the event.

“When we went into restaurants with the flyers, explaining what we wanted to do, we gave them several different options,” Satullo said. “One establishment, for instance, decided to donate 20 percent of all profits made that day to the benefit, while another decided to donate all of what they made between 4 and 9 p.m.”

Some establishments even took extra measures, Satullo said. Shaggy’s, which had already planned its own benefit, decided to donate all the profits made from both events to Alpha Xi Delta’s fund-raiser, and Coldstone Creamery added a fun twist by letting sorority members scoop cones for an hour on the afternoon of the benefit.

“Considering the timing, it all came together very well,” Neuman said. “We saw a great outpouring of enthusiasm from Newark businesses, members of other Greek organizations and the entire University community. It was really exciting to see all the support for the cause and all the generosity. Every member of Alpha Xi Delta worked very hard to bring this off, but the fund-raiser really was a community group effort.”

Participating organizations included Central Perk, Newark Bagel and Deli, Caffé Gelato, Taylor’s Inc., Korner Diner, Klondike Kate’s, Coldstone Creamery, Rumors, Margherita’s, Shaggy’s and Iron Hill Brewery. Donations adding to the grand total also came from Alpha Xi Delta cookie sales at UD’s “Giving on the Green” event and collections made at Alpha Xi Delta’s “Koins for Katrina” kiosk in the Trabant University Center.

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Duane Perry

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