NC State’s Zeta Tau Alpha’s sorority raised $38,000 for breast cancer research and advocacy at its 21st annual Crown Classic Gold golf tournament at the Lochmere Golf Club in Cary on Oct. 26, following the sorority’s annual Pink Out Week for breast cancer education and awareness.

This year’s ZTA Crown Classic Gold was the most successful in the tournament’s history, and it raised about $21,000 more than last year’s event, according to Megan Briley, the vice president of programming at NC State’s ZTA chapter.

“It is alarmingly higher than what we’ve raised in the past,” said Briley, a senior in biological sciences.

The tournament raised money through participation fees and community sponsors. This year, the sorority emphasized the importance of sponsors within the community to raise money, which ultimately helped it raise a record amount of funds, Briley said.

Internationally, ZTA’s philanthropy efforts are centered on breast cancer. The money raised at NC State’s chapter will be dispersed to various organizations through the international ZTA organization.

 Some organizations ZTA partners with include Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the NFL and Self Magazine.

“All the NFL pink out games you see, most of them are partnered with Zeta,” Briley said.

Leading up to the tournament, NC State’s chapter of ZTA organized a week of events on and around campus in an effort to raise awareness and educate students about breast cancer prevention.

“It is an important cause because one in eight women is effected by breast cancer, which is 13 percent of all women,” Briley said. “That is a very high number, and it is one in which none of us are comfortable.”

Because of the number of students with personal connections to breast cancer as well as NC State’s connection with the loss of former women’s basketball coach Kay Yow to the disease, this year ZTA wanted to find a way to get as much of the campus involved as possible, Briley said.

ZTA organized events every day Monday to Thursday during the week leading up to the tournament, which included painting the Free Expression Tunnel, handing out ribbons and information about breast cancer and signing chalkboard signs with names of breast cancer victims to honor loved ones.

On Wednesday during the week, the sorority held a Pink Out Your House competition where almost every sorority and fraternity at NC State decorated their houses for the cause.

Delta Zeta won the sorority first prize for decorating its house, and Sigma Pi won first prize for fraternities.

Monica Brookie, a sophomore in business administration and the organizer of NC State’s Pink Out Week, said the sorority was really excited to get the word out to people on campus.

“It’s an important cause,” Brookie said. “We really enjoyed getting the rest of Greek Life involved.”

Brookie said she originally took on organizing the event because she knew it was a great service opportunity, but right before she began planning Pink Out Week, she found out a family member had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It really gave me a personal connection to the cause,” Brookie said. “So many people are affected, and as a woman, I have an obligation to help raise awareness.”

Briley said she is proud of all the work the sorority did and the successes that came from it.

“Through our efforts, if we convince one person to get a mammogram or to get screened or to get genetically tested, then all of this is worthwhile,” Briley said.