With all that has changed and is different this semester, Marshall’s Alpha Chi Omega sorority worked this past month to bring some normalcy back through their efforts to raise money and awareness for their philanthropy, Domestic Violence Awareness.
During a normal semester, they would have hosted tables on campus and held their annual food fundraiser, “Grilled Cheese Please.” Since they were not able to host a big in-person event like the usually would during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, their VP of Philanthropy, Bry Bailey, moved towards a more virtual and social media approach.
“This year we did a t-shirt fundraiser and posted graphics with statistics online. We are trying to do some product drives as well, so that we can deliver them the domestic violence shelter,” said Bailey.
They posted interactive games and quizzes on their social media accounts to spread awareness and give followers and students the chance to still be involved in their efforts. They began posting “Are These Relationships Healthy or Unhealthy?” by using fictional character relationships as examples.
This particular year, the women of Alpha Chi Omega had a personal story that affected one of their sorority sisters at Ohio University, which pushed their fundraising and passion to spread awareness about domestic violence.
“We are advocating for a sister that goes to Ohio University, who was secretly beaten by her partner the first time. He was released on a low bond, and then proceeded to beat her to an almost unrecognizable state before he was prosecuted,” said Bailey. “He abused her not only once, but twice. She is pregnant as well. We have been supporting her GoFundMe to pay for medical expenses and show our support as her sisters through this.”
They have been able to raise over $1,200 for Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, which is a local nonprofit organization, as well as their national philanthropy. They raised most of this money from their Halloween Domestic Violence Awareness t-shirt fundraiser. Although Bailey wished they would have been able to host an in-person event, she is proud of their fundraiser and social media campaign for awareness.
“The success of our Halloween t-shirt sale was astounding and we were really thankful to be able to spread word and take the success from the fundraiser and donate to Branches Domestic Violence Shelter and our national philanthropy platform,” said Bailey. “Although we wish we could have in person and hands on experiences with our philanthropy, we are very happy to have had the amount of support we did through this virtual t-shirt fundraiser.”