Sorority Spotlight: Alpha Xi Delta

                 Alpha Xi Delta sorority and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at Florida Atlantic University joined together and hosted their very first annual "Buffalo Bash" on April 13th, 2014. "Buffalo Bash" is a wing festival where local restaurants came and showcased their best version of the chicken wing for the public to try and vote on their favorite.  The money was made in two ways: through sponsorships and ticket sales. In October, they sent out a sponsorship packet with 4 levels that included different benefits with each to local businesses. The levels ranged from mild ($100) to premier ($1,000). They had so much interest from companies that they were able to raise a little over $10,000 by February! The event itself was general admission, however, if you wanted to eat the wings from the 8 restaurants that were there, it was $10 for a water and 15 wings. There was also T-shirts, water/soda, raffles, and other items being sold. There was also a kid zone, and live music, and various vendors for the crowd to enjoy.

                
The whole philanthropy event was to raise money for Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism. It also increases awareness of  autism spectrum disorders as well as advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Their mission statement is as follows: "at Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders." They have a firm belief that, by working together, we will find the missing pieces of the puzzle.
              On the day of the philanthropy event they had rainy weather, but that did not keep the friends, family, and community members away. The event ended up being a huge success. $12,000 was raised for Autism speaks that day, but it was not the only thing these chapters earned. They gained the support of  a local community of Boca Raton's support and the Florida governor's, as well. The Boca Raton's mayor, Susan Haynie, gave a proclamation at the event, emphasizing how excited she was for the upcoming years and how she couldn't wait for the event to grow. Florida's govenor, Rick Scott, wrote the chapters a personalized letter expressing his gratitude for the huge donation they made to Autism Speaks.

The following is an interview with Allie Wessel who was initiated into her chapter of Fall 2010: 

What was your favorite part of Buffalo Bash?

"My favorite part of Buffalo Bash would be when the Mayor made the proclamation. It’s an amazing feeling to raise money for a great cause, but it is also incredible knowing that your organization made a difference in your community that will live long after graduation. Before this, no one from FAU’s Greek Life has reached out to the community, and we assumed that they didn’t respect or appreciate Greek Life. Through this event, we found out just the opposite. The mayor was so impressed with our efforts she nearly had tears in her eyes. She even gave us suggestions on how to make next year an even bigger success and how to get even more distinct Boca Raton community members on board. Other council members were also in attendance and expressed the same gratitude. It was great to see Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Tau Omega make an impact not only for Autism Speaks, but also for the Boca Raton community."

How did you come up with the idea for a Buffalo Bash?

 "My boyfriend and I were in Tijuana Flats one day discussing our concerns about our Greek community constantly just shifting money between one another and always raising roughly around the same amount each year. We are all poor college students, there is no way we are going to raise a large amount of money without the community's help. We thought that there had to be another way... a better way. We knew that our chapters were smaller than other schools', so our budget was not as big to do a large scale event. Which is why we decided that if we were going to do something, we needed to do it big, and we needed to do it together. So, we brainstormed, and brainstormed until my boyfriend remembered a philanthropy event done by Alpha Tau Omega at Alabama Huntsville called Battle of Buffalo. Each year they raise more and more money, and last year they rose over $30,000! It was the perfect idea. We contacted the chapter in Alabama Huntsville and got as much information about the event as we could. Once we got the basics of the event, we catered it to fit Boca Raton."

Favorite part about being a sister if Alpha Xi Delta?

"My favorite part of being a sister of Alpha Xi Delta (besides the amazing lifelong friends I have gained) is that I have a group of women and a ritual that is constantly challenging, inspiring and supporting me to be the women I always dreamed of being. If it weren’t for this organization I wouldn’t have found my love for giving back, challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone to be the leader I always wished I could be, or make lifelong friends that will be with me until we grow old."

What is one word to describe your chapter?

 "One word to describe the Theta Iota of Alpha Xi Delta would be Potential. Alpha Xi Deltas vision is “inspiring women to realize their potential”, which our chapter strives to do for each member as well as any other women that comes into each of our lives.  We also are constantly challenging each other to be creative and come up with new ideas to make the chapter even better than it was the day before." 

               This is definitely not the end for the "Buffalo Bash" and hopefully in the years to come it will continue to grow and grow. Both Alpha Xi Delta and Alpha Tau Omega are extremely excited to team up again next year and have already begun to think of ways to improve by making it bigger and better. I think I speak for many chapters when I say, we wish you luck on your drive to make this event as big as it could be and I hope we can see the growth of your event in the future!