Sigma Chi Helps Fight Cancer on Campus

Published: November 04, 2014 | Author: Alex Homer | Read Time: 2 minutes

Raising more than $12,000 this year and $10,000 above what the group raised last year, Southern Utah University’s Sigma Chi fraternity broke records as part of the national Sigma Chi philanthropic week with all proceeds going to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

In 2012, the Sigma Chi fraternity designated the Huntsman Cancer Foundation as its sole philanthropic partner. It was chosen because many of the fraternity members and their family members have been affected by cancer, the second-leading cause of death in the United States.

Thomas Hanratty, the director of Sigma Chi’s philanthropy and a senior music education major from Las Vegas, said, “It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Every brother put in a lot of hard work to reach our goal of $10,000 this year.”

Hanratty went on to say, “We couldn’t have done it without the support of each Derby Days contest and other SUU organizations. It wasn’t so much that Sigma Chi was fighting cancer, but rather that all of SUU was helping us to do it.”

While the cost of treating cancer varies from case-to-case, the $12,000 raised by the fraternity could cover the cost of a cancer patient’s chemotherapy in total.

The fraternity’s Derby Days were jam-packed with fundraising events from September 29 through October 3 that included a pancake dinner, The Little Mermaid movie, a dodge-ball tournament, Disney Olympic games and the Derby Darling Pageant.

The Derby challenge is an online competition between Sigma Chi chapters, raising money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute on each campus.

Keri Mecham, the director of student involvement and leadership at SUU said, “I have never seen an organization raise this much money. Even larger institutions haven’t raised this much in only two weeks. I’m incredibly impressed with this organization; it’s one of the best Sigma Chi chapters I’ve come into contact with.”

The fundraiser finished with a “Derby Days” banquet held in the Hunter Conference Center’s Great Hall with a keynote speaker, Lori Kun.

Director of development at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Kun spoke about the mission of the Institute, how Sigma Chi is assisting the research center through fundraising and updates on the latest research.

Sigma Chi had the assistance of nine female representatives on SUU’s campus in raising money. Each woman was competing for the title of Sigma Chi Derby Darling by raising the most money, advertising for events and the results of the Derby Days Pageant. Erin Hulse, who was representing the Ballroom Dance Company and Orchesis Modern Dance Company, was named victorious.

The Sigma Chi Fraternity has been on SUU’s campus for more than 20 years. The brothers of the Fraternity put emphasis on the values of friendship, justice and learning. The Fraternity works to train “leaders of men” and pushes its members to be involved on and off campus.

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