"Teke Cuts" Raises More Than $18,000 for St. Jude
The Upsilon-Psi chapter at California State University - East Bay raised more than $18,000 for St. Jude with their "Teke Cuts" event on March 1st. About 40 men participated and split up into teams against each other to see who could raise the most for St. Jude.
The teams that fundraised the least amount of money, had their head shaved for a good cause.
Their annual philanthropy event has improved significantly since 2013 when the group raised $800. Last year they were able to fundraise about $8,100, and this year they more than doubled that mark with a grand total of $18,305.
"It's a pretty great thing to have an annual tradition like this on our campus that gets bigger and bigger every year," Miguel Vazquez Ayala, Prytanis of Upsilon-Psi said.
The chapter promoted their event through tabling for a whole week, word of mouth and through their connections around campus.
"Our University is not a traditional one. We don't have a huge population in Greek life. We don't have Greek houses and we're kind of a huge commuter school, but we have connections with literally everyone on campus. They all love working with us. We have brothers that are RAs and brothers that are assistants to University professionals. They're always willing to help us with what we need and help get the word out as well," Vazquez Ayala said.
The Upsilon-Psi chapter also hosts many other events that benefit St. Jude. Last fall, the chapter hosted a 5K color run called "Color Splash," they recently raffled off a six foot teddy bear for Valentine's Day, and later on in the spring the chapter is planning a TKE Week which will raise additional money for St. Jude.
Frater Miguel credits other chapters ideas with his chapter's creative philanthropy events that benefit St. Jude.
"Reach out to other chapters. A lot of our ideas that we've used, we've gotten from other chapters when we go to Regional Leadership Conferences or Province Forums. Also, I would definitely recommend for any chapter to get in contact with their event planner at their University. They have so many connections and resources that you don't have to pay for a lot of things," Vazquez Ayala said.
When Frater Miguel helped plan their 5K color run last fall, he spoke with his school's event planner and was able to get a DJ for free and they were able to easily work with the school's police department to assist with the 5K. But through all of this hard work, being able to help the children of St. Jude has a special meaning for Frater Miguel.
"St. Jude is a main reason why I joined TKE. One thing that I'm always looking forward to is helping St. Jude out. Growing up, my parents always donated to St. Jude and being able to help contribute money makes me really proud to be a Teke," Vazquez Ayala said.
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