Supporting DVA On Campus and Remotely
Writer, Graphics: Savannah T. / Chapter Submitted Photos
The sisters of Alpha Chi Omega champion the Domestic Violence Awareness (DVA) cause across their chapters nationwide. This past spring semester, the Beta Eta chapter of AChiO contributed to this cause through their Healthy Relationship Week (HRW), Pizza Pie with Alpha Chi, and their virtual Denim Day, with all proceeds going to the Tallahassee Refuge House. Philia sat down with AChiO’s Philanthropy Chair, Sara D., as well as some sisters, Alessandra L. and Sarah M., who participated in these events for this great cause.
The first philanthropy event that AChiO put on this spring semester was their Healthy Relationship Week. This event was held the week of Valentines Day and focused on spreading awareness about domestic violence, developing healthy relationships, and encouraging people to define what love means to them. To spread the word, the chapter tabled on Landis Green, educated their fellow FSU students on their philanthropy, and interacted with buttons, flyers, stickers that helped build awareness for DVA.
“The buttons are a part of the ‘Love Is…’ campaign, which encourages people to define what love means to them. Tabling at Market Wednesday during HRW, sisters asked people passing by to write on the button that said ‘Love is…’ People could choose to keep the button or hang it in front of our table,” says Sara D. “I decided to write that ‘Love is the 518’, which is what we call our Chapter Facility (our address is 518 W. Park).”
“I think healthy relationships week greatly impacted our chapter and the community here at Florida State. It reminds every student how important it is to engage in healthy relationships and seek help if needed,” said Alessandra L. “This week also brings lots of awareness to those who might be uneducated about the subject. During this week, as a chapter, we remind everyone what qualities make up a healthy relationship and how to get help if you find yourself in an unhealthy one.”
Healthy Relationship Week was successful in spreading awareness about DVA both inside and outside the chapter. The event allowed sisters to bond with each other and the general public while empowering everyone to speak up against domestic violence and sexual assault. Healthy Relationship Week was held before the Pizza Pie with Alpha Chi event, allowing more people to understand the event and where the chapter’s philanthropic proceeds go. As Philanthropy Chair, Sara D. worked endlessly with her team to plan the Pizza Pie with Alpha Chi event.
“In mid-January, my committee and I started to have multiple meetings to discuss the theme, fundraising techniques, and to discuss how to promote the event as best as we could. We also visited numerous pizza places to receive either pizza or monetary donations & this year all of the pizza was provided by Gumby’s Pizza! This year was the first year that we used Crowd Change for Pizza Pie with Alpha Chi which allows for sisters to post or send a link to our online fundraising page,” says Sara D. “This allowed for us to really spread the word and promote the event not only within our chapter, not only within Greek life, & not only within the FSU community, but also with relatives that live out of state and other AXO chapters.”
The Panhellenic Community supports one another through philanthropy events, and DVA is no expectation. Sisters from other chapters went to the tabling on Landis Green and the Pizza Pie with Alpha Chi event, and AChiO held an event specifically for the Panhellenic Community. During the Healthy Relationship Week, there was a candy gram fundraiser where Panhellenic sisters could pay $1 to send a bag of candy to another panhellenic sister on Valentine’s Day, with all the money being donated to the Tallahassee Refuge House.
“There is no better feeling than when you host a philanthropy event and other chapters purchase multiple tickets or when a group of other chapters’ sisters walk up together and buy tickets for your chapter’s event. This really makes the Panhellenic community feel united especially when supporting other events,” says Sara D. “I think every event went super well and I was so proud to be backed by a Chapter that is as passionate about our philanthropy as I am.”
Denim Day took place on April 28th, and was a national event that aimed to spread awareness around rape and sexual assault. Although the sisters of AChiO couldn’t physically be together for Denim Day, they held a virtual Denim Day, where they encouraged sisters to post photos in denim to spread awareness for the cause and show survivors of sexual assault that they stand with them.
“Denim Day was founded to bring awareness to those who are sexually assaulted. It is important to normalize talking about these hard topics,” says Sarah M. “For National Denim Day, we dressed in Denim and posted pictures on Instagram using certain hashtags to educate our followers on sexual assault. It is important to use our social media platforms for good.
While AChiO does specific events for their cause every semester, DVA is an initiative that they are constantly promoting throughout the year. AChiO has an on-going partnership with RAINN, which stands for Rape, Assault, and Incest National Network, that focuses on sexual assault pervention. The chapter educates their sisters on domestic violence and how they can be a part of the conversation, and they provide sisters with the opportunity to receive formal training to help victims of domestic violence. They also hold clothing and food drives while donating leftover food from their meals to the women at the Tallahassee Refuge House. In spring, sisters attended the Survivor Speak Out event at the local refuge house, where they listened and met strong women who shared their personal stories, and they also regularly volunteered there.
“My personal favorite memory of volunteering at the Refuge House was when we made holiday ornaments and cookies around Christmas time with all of the children there,” says Sara D. “Seeing the children so happy and exciting to do activities with us is truly amazing.”
The sisters of the Beta Eta chapter of AChiO are committed to continuing their proud tradition of uplifting domestic violence victims this upcoming year. Sara D. is proud to represent her chapter as philanthropy chair and sees them continuing their advocacy.
“I see the future of Beta Eta’s philanthropy involvement as very promising. Our past two events have raised the most money in Beta Eta history and I do not see the support dwindling anytime soon. With all the events mentioned, I never need to make a sister volunteer, rather my sisters are always willing to volunteer to support our great cause. I am excited for the future and honored to be a part of the present.”