Members of Tufts' Pan-Hellenic Council raised over $2,000 byparticipating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk inBoston yesterday.
"Sisters were eager to participate and spoke of their mothers,aunts, grandmothers, and friends who have been affected by variousforms of cancer," Pan-Hellenic President Ilenna Elman said."Because so many Pan-Hellenic members have been personally touchedby this awful illness, walking to help eradicate cancer was evenmore meaningful."
The event, which took place at the Charles River Esplanade, wassponsored by the American Cancer Society (ACS).
Over fifty Tufts students from the Pan-Hellenic Councilsolicited donations beforehand and then walked for 5.7 miles by theCharles River.
The Pan-Hellenic Council is made up of students who are membersof the three sororities on campus - Alpha Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi,and Chi Omega.
The Council chose the cause because it is a women's healthissue, according to Elman.
"As a large women's organization, women's health issues concernus," Elman said. "We wanted to create awareness to empower othercollege women, as well as show that we care."
Many of the sisters in the Pan-Hellenic Society have beenpersonally touched by the disease, she said.
Though the Council's original goal was to raise only $1,000,participants raised more than twice that amount - $2,265.50.
The day of the walk, donations from all participants totaled$569,800, according to the ACS Web site.
ACS' Making Strides walk in Boston is the largest one-day breastcancer walk in the nation, the group's Web site said.
The ACS sponsors a number of Making Strides walks in othercities each year.
All of the money raised at the walk, after expenses, goes tobreast cancer research, detection, and patient and familyservices.
Elman said the day was a success. "While it was a beautiful dayto walk around the Charles River, it was a relatively shortdistance for us compared to the distances that those battling withbreast cancer have to go," she said.
Elman related one story from the day, in which a fellowpassenger on the T asked one Tufts participant what the group'sshirts were for.
"After the girl explained to the woman what we were doing, thewoman told her how thankful she was and how much it meant to herpersonally because she was a breast cancer survivor. We knew theday was a success," Elman said.
Another goal of the event was to bring members of the threedifferent sororities together to work toward a common cause.
To this end, the Pan-Hellenic Society also plans biweekly letterdays for members to show their pride in their sorority. They arealso planning Sorority Awareness week and a self-defense speakerfor later in the semester.
