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CHARITY OF THE MONTH
Chi Omega’s Sandblast FEBRUARY 2014 WINNER – 2039 VOTES
It all began on April 5, 1895, at the University of Arkansas when four young women, with the help of a local dentist, established the secrets and symbolism that today bind over 260,000 women. This small band of women founded Chi Omega after realizing a need for an organization that would foster both friendship and respect for the potential and inherent value of women. Over the years, Chi Omega has provided its members with unique opportunities in leadership, scholarship and lifelong friendship, while striving to provide each sister with a commitment to personal integrity, excellence in academic and intellectual pursuits, community service, leadership opportunities and social enrichment. The Eta Delta Chapter of Chi Omega was born on September 11, 1948 and was one of the original five sororities on the University of Florida campus. Since 1895, six purposes have served as a guide for every Chi Omega chapter. Today, they remain as valid as ever. Those six purposes are: Friendship, High Standards of Personnel, Sincere Learning and Creditable Scholarship, Participation in Campus Activities, Career Development, and Community Service. One of Chi Omega’s biggest philanthropic charities is the Sandblast, an annual volleyball tournament that benefits the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The ladies of Chi Omega coach fraternities, sororities and independent teams. They spend the day in the sun
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sand bumping, spiking and setting to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. With the money raised at Sandblast, Chi Omega has granted wishes such as a trip to Disney World and a day playing basketball with Will Smith. In 2012-2013, the sisters of Eta Delta raised more than $14,000, which was enough money to grant four wishes. The sorority enjoys spending time at local charities in the Gainesville community. And the sisters do their part by tutoring children at the Boys and Girls Club, delivering food for Meals on Wheels, and donating supplies to Alachua County public schools. Around the holidays, Chi Omegas can be found wrapping gifts for Operation Christmas Child and also participating in community service projects, such as Ghouls, Goblins, and Greeks. As part of their mission statement Chi Omega strives, “to place scholarship before social obligations and character before appearances; to be, in the best sense, democratic rather than ‘exclusive’, and lovable rather than ‘popular’; to work earnestly, to speak kindly, to act sincerely, to choose thoughtfully that course which occasion and conscience demand.” Through Sandblast, it’s clear that UF’s Chi Omega is living up to their mission. s
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