Alpha Phi sorority raised more than $13,000 for womens heart health at its annual Bid Your Heart Out auction on Feb. 28.
Alpha Phi External Philanthropy Chair and event co-organizer Martha Meguerian said that nearly 400 people turned out for the event, which benefited the Alpha Phi Foundation. She explained that the amount raised this year matched last years total.
Emily Rennert, the other co-organizer, said that the whole sorority contributed to the event.
Every sister has to make a donation, or [give] a gift card or [tickets] if her family owns season tickets to a Jets game, Rennert, a junior, said. We also have a committee that goes out to local stores in Davis [Square], Harvard [Square] and Boston and gets them to donate to us -- some stores have been [giving] donations for us every year.
The event was divided into two parts, a silent auction containing themed baskets and a live auction in Cohen auditorium, Meguerian said.
After the silent auction, we [went] into the live auction and we [had] two hosts there, she said. Our live auction items [were] our bigger ticket items ... We [had] Avicii tickets, Jets tickets and Celtics tickets.
According to Meguerian, creating partnerships with other Greek organizations is a big part of Bid Your Heart Out.
We had a bunch of Zeta [Psi] sophomores and juniors [auctioned as] Zeta handymen, and you could bid on them to come and fix anything in your house for a few hours, she said. Theta Delta Chi donated Call on Me tickets since [they are] such a hot commodity. There were 5 tickets and I think they went for between 90 and 100 dollars total.
These philanthropic partnerships, however, extended beyond Greek life, Meguerian said. Spirit of Color performed at the auction and John Piermarini, founder of Sweet Idea, donated cookies for the events attendees, she said.
Rennert said that Tufts chapter of Alpha Phi has gained national recognition from its greater organization, Alpha Phi International, for its fundraising prowess. Last year, the organization raised more money in a single night than any other NESCAC Greek organization.
The goal is also just to have fun and raise any sum of money, Meguerian said. We were blown away by [how much] we raised last year and this year ... If we really take pride in it, we can raise so much money in one night for this really amazing cause, which adds an important element to a Greek organization.
Tufts Panhellenic Council President Jaime Morgen explained that Bid Your Heart Out achieves one of the core objectives of Greek life at Tufts.
One of the key values that all Greek organizations on this campus share is the pillar of philanthropy, Morgen, a senior, told the Daily in an email. I think in the past few years, all Tufts fraternities and sororities have made an effort to make their philanthropic efforts a more prominent part of their image on campus.
