Saint Joseph’s Alpha Phi sorority held its 8th annual Red Dress Gala this Saturday at the Hilton Hotel on City Avenue. The event, an enormous success, was attended by 247 people including sisters and their families and allowed the sisters to raise $8,500 for the Alpha Phi Foundation, which is almost four times the amount they raised last year. This year, seniors Anne Riddle, the event coordinator, and Kat Pearson, the chapter’s Vice President of Marketing organized the Red Dress Gala. They didn’t do it alone, though, every sister of the chapter contributes to the event.
The Red Dress Gala is an annual event held by every Alpha Phi chapter nationally. The event raises money for the Alpha Phi foundation, founded in 1956. The foundation is one of the oldest Greek foundations for women and was set up as a trust with a purpose of awarding grants for scholarships as well as cardiac aid funds. The foundations two priorities are “to encourage and recognize superior scholarship and to support women’s cardiac health”.
The night of the Red Dress Gala is full of fun as well as fundraising. The night begins with a cocktail and appetizer hour accompanied by a professional photographer to take pictures of the sisters and their families and guests on the red carpet. The funds are raised through a silent auction beginning when the event starts and ending at 10:00 pm. This year there were 45 baskets to auction as well as 16 big-ticket items for the families to bid on. Sisters and families as well as businesses in the surrounding community donate all of the items used for the auction. The night also included some amazing speakers including Rosetta Lue, a national spokeswoman for the American Heart Association’s “Go Red” campaign, and one of Alpha Phi’s own, Gina Pontarelli.
I was able to ask the two lovely ladies some questions about the event and their experience with it:
Kat Karpicki: Why is the Red Dress Gala important to you and Alpha Phi as a whole?
Anne Riddle: “To me, a sorority is so much more than letter shirts and social events. At the end of the day, we exist because we want to come together as a sisterhood and make a difference. Our philanthropy goes to an amazing cause. I was elected by my chapter as the Alpha Phi Coordinator a year ago. Because they chose me to make this night great, I was determined to do just that. RDG is important to every girl in our sorority because it is a chance for us all to come together and raise money for an important cause. Heart disease and other heart issues affect a shockingly large amount of people. Our philanthropy does wonderful things to help with awareness, treatments, research, and hopefully cures for these terrible problems. It is awesome knowing that we are able to make a difference – and have fun doing it!”
Kat Pearson: “RDG is important to me because it is the biggest philanthropy event that Alpha Phi’s everywhere host. This gives all of our chapters a sense of unity, and helps us to give back to the community on a greater scale. This is especially because a large part of the proceeds go to research for the AHA to help stop heart disease which is the #1 killer amongst women. And I hold this cause close to my heart because I have a history of heart disease in my family and I would like to do all that I can to help researchers find a cure, even if that just means holding fundraisers for it.”
KK: What was the most stressful part of planning the Red Dress Gala?
Anne: “The biggest worry I had going into the event was how much money we are going to raise. Yes, the center pieces, the dinner, the seating chart, DJ and photographer were all important, but at the end of the day this event is about raising as much money as possible for our philanthropy. In the past this event has run as a Chinese auction. Deciding to change it to a silent auction was a huge decision that wasn’t made very lightly. Going into a silent auction, the night can go anywhere. I had no idea we would make so much money and I still can’t even believe it!”
Kat: “The most stressful part about planning RDG was that Anne and I changed a lot about the way it was run in the past. Coming up with a new way to run an event that our sorority has been doing for years is always risky because a) you never know how it will turn out until it’s over and b) people often don’t like change. So it’s important to weigh all possibilities, choose what you think will work best, have back up plans, and make sure all of this is clearly communicated throughout the organization. In the end, our girls were overwhelmingly enthusiastic and supportive which helped to make the changes to the event so successful.”
KK: What was your favorite part of the Red Dress Gala?
Anne: “My favorite part is getting to see so many people come together for a good cause. We had 247 people come this year, and I am grateful for each and every one. I think that every single one of our sisters helped make the night special, whether it was an incredible donation, helping Kat and I scramble to get things done the week before, or just being there to listen to us rant, the whole chapter really came together. I keep saying that I don’t deserve all of the praise I am getting – there were many vital people in this process that made it what it was! I also really love to see families come together for this event. Parents travel from all over to be at this event, something that I think means a lot to some girls. My own parents traveled all the way from Prague to be here to support me and to support the cause!”
Kat: “My favorite part about this years RDG was how the girls excitement was so contagious especially to the parents. In addition to the excitement to all be together with our families and friends, the moving speeches really inspired all of us to not only be more generous in the fundraising aspect, but also inspired us to live heart healthy lives & spread this message along to our loved ones.”
More pictures from the event are going to be on the following website: http://www.twosuitsphotodesign.com/red