Cheers for Charity is one of three major philanthropy events that unite Greek life at the University of Central Florida, and it might just be the most unique of them all. Hosted by Alpha Delta Pi mid-spring semester, it stands out from the other two events, Zeta Tau Alpha’s Lip Sync and Kappa Delta’s Shakedown, by ditching the dance competition format entirely in favor of a full cheerleading competition.
Watching frats and sororities attempt stunts and sideline routines is something I never expected to see, but here we are, and honestly? It works.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the event, but as someone who did cheer for a solid three years, I recognized most of the stunts and sideline action, so if you need to look up any cheer slang, feel free to do it because I will definitely need to use it to explain some things below, but I will also do my best to give a simple explanation.
What does Alpha Delta Pi support?
Founded in 1851 at Wesleyan College in Georgia, Alpha Delta Pi holds the distinction of being the first sorority ever created for women, and if you’ve ever heard someone in Greek life say “first and finest,” now you know who they’re talking about.
UCF’s Zeta Omega chapter has been active since 1982 and has built a strong reputation both on campus and nationally, earning the Philanthropy Excellence Award at their last national convention, along with the Diamond Four Point Award for their commitment to the chapter’s core values.
Now 20 years strong, Cheers for Charity has become a landmark event on campus, one that organizations take seriously, spending months preparing and fundraising ahead of competition day.
ADPi’s philanthropic efforts center around the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation and Ronald McDonald House Charities, which has a local branch right here in Orlando. RMH supports children and families navigating difficult times by providing housing and meals when they need them most. The sisters of Zeta Omega partner directly with the Orlando house through a program called Share A Meal, cooking for residents and visitors, a tradition that doubles as a meaningful bonding experience for the chapter.
“We do more things, we really care about our philanthropy, we’re so passionate about it and we love raising money and really want to make a difference in this community.”
Brynn McNeally, ADPi’s 2026 Director of Philanthropy
If you see an ADPi wearing a pop tab on a chain, you, like me, may wonder, ‘Why?’ As it turns out, the girls collect them and donate the profits of the melted-down metal to RMH. So save your pop tabs and bring them to your local ADPi.
“I want us to have a positive impact, obviously, but also a lasting one,” said Brynn McNeally, Director of Philanthropy for UCF’s Zeta Omega chapter. “I want them to see us and not think of the stigma on sororities — we do so much for RMH and we aren’t just a typical sorority.”
Main event
On March 12, The Venue at UCF came alive for Cheers for Charity. The women of ADPi set the tone immediately, greeting spectators in blue dresses before McNeally and her philanthropy team — Caitlyn Cunningham, Madeleine Googins, and Madison Bolen — officially opened the night.
Senior members Maddie Kearney and Sophia Baxter MC’d the event, introducing a judging panel made up entirely of Zeta Omega alumnae, alongside Caitlin Barefoot, RMH’s Central Florida senior executive assistant and fellow ADPi alumna. Before the competition kicked off, current sister Bea Cruise shared a personal story about how Ronald McDonald House impacted her family, a reminder of exactly what the night was raising money for.
Then came the performances. ADPi opened the show with sharp sideline choreography set to Beyoncé, and the energy only built from there. Only two other sororities entered the routine competition this year — Kappa Alpha Theta and Zeta Tau Alpha — and both brought something worth watching. Theta, competing in a routine for the first time, turned heads with twist-ups, tumbling, and a competitive cheer mix. Zeta took a different approach with a sideline-competitive hybrid, becoming the only team to incorporate poms, a pyramid, a lib switch, and a split. UCF’s own club cheer teams in both sideline and competitive also took the floor, rounding out a night that proved Greek life can actually cheer.
The fraternities brought their own brand of chaos and some of it was genuinely impressive.D-Sig kept it clean with a solid sideline routine, first to incorporate signs. SAE leaned into a Kendrick Lamar-inspired football theme. Theta Chi pulled out the McDonald’s mascot, rose petals, and Soulja Boy — though TEP had the same idea. Phi Delt paid homage to Teen Beach Movie, ZBT was the undisputed “Mrs. Trendsetter” of the night, and ATO, last year’s winners, delivered a stunning routine — bear included, reason unknown. TKE? Spray-painted shirts and cartwheels. We’ll leave it at that.
The real standout, though, was Pi Kappa Alpha.PIKE made their return to campus after being absent since the early 2000s, and nobody saw it coming. They were sharp, well-coordinated, and executed jumps and stunts that most teams couldn’t pull off even with coaches in the routine. They landed a lib switch and a flip completely unassisted, which is no small feat.
For those who do not speak cheer, a lib is where the flyer (the girl who is in the air, usually at the top of the pyramid) is poised with one leg held up by the two bases and a backspot. It’s hard to pull off a lib-switch because the bases have to switch grips to compensate for the flyer switching feet while holding her up. Flipping from a lib is even more complicated because you have to get control of both feet again, and have at least two flyers in the air (preferably from other stunt teams) to grip the main flyer’s arms, flip her around into a basket position where she should be caught by multiple front-spots. So, to the coaches? Nice job.
The winners for the routine aspect of the competition for sororities had Theta placed in second and Zeta in first. For the fraternities, ATO was in third, much to the people’s surprise; ZBT was in second, and PIKE took first.
In terms of contributions, for sororities, KD came in third, Theta in second, and ZTA took first again as well. For fraternities, PIKE came in third, ATO came in second, and the ‘Lion Kings’ came in first place, which went to fan favorite Theta Chi.
The goal was to raise 50,000 dollars, and although they were slightly short of that, they still managed to raise an impressive 45,000 dollars.
Overall, it was really good to be surrounded by women who “live for each other” and bring much hope to those in our community who need it.