Panhellenic sorority Delta Delta Delta hosted its annual Fashion for Life: Tri Delta Rocks the Runway event Wednesday night in the Cal State Long Beach University Student Union Ballrooms, with all proceeds benefiting the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event included a designer jean runway show featuring two models from each CSULB sorority and one from each fraternity. A discounted designer jean sale, with 15 men and women designer brands, took place immediately following the show.
The event also included other clothing and accessory vendors as well as live entertainment provided by five local bands – Centrevol, The Sequence, The Donner Party, Theseus and Allura.
“Tri Delta hosts Fashion for Life every year because it is a great way to raise money for a wonderful cause,” said Courtney Davis, the Tri Delta philanthropy chairwoman. “I think that the best part about it is that it allows us to host an event that brings Greeks and non-Greeks alike together to enjoy a night that is not out of selfishness, but to celebrate and raise money for a much better cause. Throwing such a huge event allows us to show the CSULB community that the Greeks are here to make a difference, and to show them how important philanthropy is to us. “
Tri Delta is an international women’s sorority founded in 1888 in Boston. The sorority currently has 137 chapters with more than 186,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, making it one of the largest women’s organizations in the world.
At a Tri Delta convention in 1974, it was decided that its designated philanthropy was going to include and support Children’s Cancer Charities. In 1999, the group formed a national partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
St. Jude is a pediatric treatment and research facility that focuses solely on children’s cancer and other catastrophic diseases. By forming this partnership, Tri Delta was able to start planning philanthropy events in order to raise money for the children and help lower research costs at St. Jude.
In March 2007, Tri Delta made a national “10 in 10” campaign commitment, meaning that the group of women set a goal of raising $10 million in 10 years in order to focus more on patient treatment and brain tumor research.
Fashion for Life is just one of the many events that the sorority hosts every year in order to raise money for St. Jude.
“Philanthropy is very important to us,” said Hayley Crombie, Tri Delta president. “I feel proud that Tri Delta contributes our time and effort to such a great cause. The time and energy is all worth it when I think about the children at St. Jude that are in need.”
Last year’s Fashion for Life event had around 200 attendees and raised more than $1,000.
“I think it’s great what Tri Delta is doing for the community as well as St. Jude,” said Mitch Davis, the lead singer for Allura. “When they asked us to perform at this event we couldn’t say no. We love knowing that we can do what we love to do by performing, but at the same time help raise awareness about their cause and raise money for it also.”
Other attendees at the show had the same views. CSULB alumna Jennifer Smith, 24, came back to the event this year because she has enjoyed it every time she attended.
“I love designer jeans, so why not help contribute by purchasing something that I would otherwise be buying in the mall?” Smith said.
Fashion for Life is one of Tri Delta’s biggest events of the year. The sorority will continue to hold the event in the future in hopes of further benefiting its philanthropic causes.
“We will continue to have this event because it is a great way to showcase our Greek system and CSULB community. It shows how we can all work together in order to raise money for great philanthropies such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Crombie said. “By holding this event I think we set the bar high in expectations from philanthropic events. It shows that we can have a fun fashion show with awesome new music, but at the same time raise money for children with cancer.”
