Central Michigan University’s Greek Week occurred March 26-April 5 where sororities and fraternities teamed up to raise money for two philanthropies, The Women’s Aid Service and Special Days Camp. The Women’s Aid Service, per their website, “focuses on providing safety and empowerment to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and to work to eliminate sexual victimization and domestic violence through shelter, treatment, education, and social change.” Special Days Camp, per their website, “exists to provide a safe and memorable camping opportunity in a medically-supervised environment for children who have experienced cancer and their siblings, servicing the entire family.” The Greek Community raised $100,000 throughout the week with the winners being the team of Alpha Chi Omega and Sigma Pi. I had the chance to sit down with Ashlee Croy, president of Alpha Chi Omega to reflect on the week.
What is the importance of the entire week?
What’s really important about the entirety of Greek Week is the two causes we are supporting. With philanthropy being one of the foundational values of Greek Life as a whole, it is so important for us to give back. I know I try to remind my girls of this as the week gets competitive. But it is so important that we are bringing awareness to the causes we are supporting along with the funds we are raising.
What does Greek Week mean to you?
Greek Week for me is a time where the entire Greek Community can show CMU what exactly we are here for. We are more than just the stereotypes that people label us and we actually care about the things we say we do– such as service and philanthropy. In a way, we are proving ourselves to the rest of the community.
What is the best part about Greek Week? The best part about Greek Week this year was raising a record breaking $100,000.00 for two more than deserving causes. When they announced how much we raised I was almost in tears and in pure shock. I was in awe and so incredibly happy.
How has winning Greek Week impacted your life or the life of the women in your chapter?
Winning Greek Week this year was personal for our chapter. This year the Women’s Aid Service was chosen as one of the philanthropies to support, and it just so happens to be our local philanthropy we support every semester through our Spaghetti Dinner. When we found out that they were chosen, the whole chapter set out to win. We wanted this for the women and the service. When we found out we raised over $10,000 [as a chapter alone] and ended up winning it was overjoying. But we were even happier that the shelter got $50,000 to help more women and families affected by domestic violence. Our chapter is certainly still riding a high after the win and it really was what we needed to push through the rest of the semester.