Theta hosts second annual Thetathon to raise money for CASA

Around 360 people attended Kappa Alpha Theta's (Theta) second annual Thetathon, a live music event, to raise money for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) last Friday night in the Alumnae Lounge.

Ticket sales for the event put Theta on track to meet the intended goal of $10,000 for CASA, an organization that trains volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children as they go through foster care and legal systems, according to Vanessa Zhang, the chief executive officer of Tufts' Theta chapter. Zhang, a senior, said Theta is still waiting to tally additional donations before reporting the final amount of money collected for the event.

The event featured various activities, including a hot dog eating contest, raffles, food and live music performances by student bands Back of the Class, Wakana, DJ Everest, WARNS and Not So Gentlemen, according to Theta's Service and Philanthropy DirectorMelissa Blotner and the Thetathon Facebook event.

Blotner, a senior, said that 100 percent of the proceeds from Thetathon are going to CASA, an organization that has been supported by Theta chapters nationally for 25 years. During that time, the national Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation has contributed more than $1.2 million to the National CASA Association, according to the CASA website.

According to the Thetathon Facebook event, $1,000 provides a child under CASA's care with a volunteer from the organization. Zhang said last year's fundraiser provided 10 children with CASA volunteers, raising $10,800 in ticket sales and additional donations.

Thetathon was originally going to be held on Fletcher Field, but the event was moved indoors due to inclement weather, according to Zhang. Even with the change of location, Zhang still called the event a huge success.

"We're actually really happy it turned out being inside because the inside location was awesome," she said. "Even if we had still had it outside, I don't think it would've been as successful because it was cold, so it kind of turned out to be like a blessing in disguise."

The local businesses who sponsored Thetathon were an integral part of the event, according to Blotner. These sponsors included Anna’s Taqueria, Orange Leaf, Frozen Hoagies, Yoshi’s, JP Licks, Monster Energy, Dave’s Fresh Pasta, Neuro, Illy Coffee, Flatbread Company, Boloco, True Grounds, Flour Bakery, Danish Pastry House, Espresso’s and Au Bon Pain.

"We were able to reach out to lots of local restaurants and other local places that lots of Tufts kids like and explain to them that this is a really awesome event for a really great organization, and luckily a lot of people came through to help out," Blotner said.

ThetaChief Marketing OfficerTori Lin said the sorority wanted to take the event in a different direction from last year's Thetathon, which was the sorority's first large-scale fundraising event.

"Last year was definitely very DJ-heavy, and so this year we really wanted to focus on bands, and we were super excited for this year's line-up," Lin, ajunior, said. "We want Thetathon to celebrate the talent that we have here at Tufts, and so this is a really great way to showcase all the live-music bands."

Zhang added that the sisters' high morale and good spirit contributed to the success of the event.

"Everybody there was excited to be there, and it just made the event so much more fun for everybody, whether you were a sister, a person playing in the band or an attendee," she said.

The sorority was able to reach out to many facets of the Tufts community because of Theta sisters' broad involvement throughout campus, according to Lin.

"We have a lot of women who are very involved in many different organizations and groups, and so we definitely had the support of our chapter when we needed to reach out to a very wide group of people, and that created a lot of buzz and excitement," she said.

Blotner said Thetathon provided an opportunity for the Tufts community to come together around a common cause.

Theta hopes to continue hosting this event in the future, Lin added.

"It depends on the success of the event and on the next people who take our positions, but we're definitely sticking with the name Thetathon and we're really excited for what the future will hold," she said.