Two campus fraternities raised more than $1,000 for the tsunami relief effort at a party they hosted Friday night.
Beta Theta Pi and Zeta Beta Tau fraternities hosted a party at the ZBT house Friday night where they asked guests for a $5 donation as they entered, said Phil Stricker, a marketing junior and member of Beta.
ZBT, an unrecognized fraternity, is matching all of the money the fraternity raised for the tsunami relief, including the money they raised Friday and any future donations, said Ben Madick, a member of ZBT. All the money ZBT raised for the tsunami relief will be donated to the Red Cross.
"We welcome any contributions and we'll match them," said Madick, a finance junior.
Madick said ZBT's private funds will be used to match the donations.
Jared Letzt, president of ZBT, saw how bad the devastation was and felt, as part of the greek community, his chapter should help instead of just partying.
"I encourage other houses to do the same thing," said Letzt, a regional development junior.
After Friday, Stricker saw the ability the fraternities had to raise money and help with causes such as the tsunami tragedy.
"The most important thing for me is for people to recognize the potential that organizations like fraternities have when they concentrate their efforts to a worthy cause," Stricker said.
The Betas, Sigma Pi and Kappa Alpha fraternities are having their collaborative Bid Night party at the Sigma Pi house Friday and will have tables set up at the door for people to make donations as they enter, said Eli Cohen, president of Kappa Alpha.
All men on the guest list will be asked to make a $5 donation before they enter the party, said James Wie, president of Sigma Pi, but women and members of the three fraternities putting on the party are not obligated to donate.
Wie said the members of the fraternities as well as female guests could also make donations at the door if they wish to.
The tsunami is a special case that should be addressed and if the Sigma Pi chapter gets a good result, they will plan on doing other things to give back to the community in the future, Wie said.
The chapters expect more than 500 people to attend their Bid Night party and believe they will have a good turnout with the donations, Wie said.
"We're hoping to raise over $1,000 at the party," Wie said.
Stricker is working on getting other chapters involved in raising money for the tsunami relief effort in the future, and his chapter is planning on doing more fundraising on campus.