Did you enjoy Date Raffle two weeks ago? Did you have a date for Black Cat formal last weekend? If not, and you plan on going, maybe you should think about raffling off a date next year!
With all the hype surrounding it a few weeks ago and especially during the event itself, I decided to find out more about the beginnings of Date Raffle. From the help of an alumna, and a current Witkaze Executive Board Officer, this is what I was able to find.
Since 2007, Witkaze, Agnes Scott’s Black Student Association, has hosted Date Raffle. Scotties, and others from surrounding colleges and universities such as Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and Morehouse College, participate as contestants to be auctioned off to the highest bidders. Once the bidding is finalized, the pair officially has a date to Black Cat Formal!
This year’s Date Raffle raised an astonishing amount of over $3,000, all of which was donated to AIDS Walk Atlanta. When asked why they chose this particular cause to donate to, Kristen Davis, ’09, and former Witkaze member replied, “We already saw it as a community service opportunity, so we thought, ‘Hey, why not?’ We needed a fundraiser idea for community service anyway, and we [the Witkaze Executive Board] thought the timing worked out perfectly since Black Cat Formal was the following week.”
Researching more about HIV/AIDS, which currently has no cure, I can see why they would choose this cause. HIV is a virus spread through certain body fluids that attack the body’s immune system, specifically the CD4 cells, often called T-cells. These special cells help the immune system fight off infections. Over time, HIV can destroy so many of these cells that the body can’t fight off infections and disease (http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html). In the state of Georgia alone, approximately 42,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV, as of 2013.
“I was pleased by the work of me and my team members for this year’s event,” says Ro Tarver, Witkaze’s current Event Planner. “I believe our teamwork, hard work, dedication from contestants/volunteers, and also thorough planning of the Witkaze Executive Board contributed to the success of Date Raffle.”
Hopefully, you will join in on the fun that surrounds finding your date for Black Cat Formal. And if not, at least you know a little bit more about where those screaming Scotties’ money is going!
To find out more about HIV/AIDS, visit http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/.
All photos courtesy of Kristian Contreras.