Campus Organizations Get Together to Make a “Splash” for Charity
John Cline
Staff Writer
Campus organizations converged Sunday at the Carmichael Gymnasium’s pool to take part in Delta Gamma’s annual Anchor Splash philanthropy event.
Fraternities, sororities, and several other organizations took part in a variety of water based competitions to raise money for various charities.
“Anchor splash is Delta Gamma’s national philanthropy event. It’s a swimming competition with different relays and events, including a 100 yd relay, wet t-shirt relay, synchronized swimming, and a belly-flop competition, among others,” Allyson O’Neill, a junior in secondary mathematics education and the director of Anchor Splash for Delta Gamma said. “We’ve had it at N.C. State for eight years now.”
According to O’Neill, they had a near-record turnout this year and raised more money than ever before for the charities they support.
“It was a great showing this year. I don’t have the exact numbers for who showed up, but we has 28 teams participating, the majority being fraternities and sororities but not exclusively,” O’Neill said. “This year we had [a team] from Army ROTC, ‘Maria’s Mermaids,’ which was composed of campus athletes, and also a variety of service organizations.”
O’Neill said they raised over $6,000 dollars this year, a considerable jump from last year’s earnings. Proceeds go primarily to benefit the Delta Gamma Foundation and Service for Sight.
The Delta Gamma Foundation provides resources for educational growth and philanthropic service for all members and gives more than 86,000 hours a year nationally in volunteer service, according to their mission statement.
Service for Sight is a series of grants aimed toward helping visually impaired children and young adults achieve dreams they normally wouldn’t be able to. Students have been aided with free state of the art eyeglasses, specialized computer monitor technology, braille books, and unlimited access to a new children’s Braille Library. College students receive help as well, such as scholarships to a summer Braille Music Institute awarded to musically talented young adults.
Adam Nussbaum, a sophomore in biology and a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, said that while it is a competition, the true purpose is raising money for the charity.
“I did the 100 meter freestyle relay, save the mermaid, and synchronized swimming because I’ve been a swimmer my whole life,” Nussbaum said. “It’s fun, and even though I feel we should have gotten a few more points here and there, it’s for a good cause overall, and everyone competes and has a good time.”
Christine Love, a sophomore in psychology and member of Delta Gamma, shared Nussbaum’s sentiments that it all boils down to the good cause.
“I think it is a good event that brings the Greek system together and raises money for a good cause,” Love said. “Blindness is a huge issue that often gets overlooked when people look for charities to give money to, and I’m glad it’s one of [Delta Gamma’s] priorities.”
Some of the highlights of the event were the belly-flop competition and the synchronized swimming.
“Some of the belly-flops were funny and painful, and a lot of the synchronized swimming routines were hilarious because you get a bunch of guys dancing flamboyantly to music like Lady Gaga,” Nussbaum said.
Love said she agreed. “The synchronized swimming routines were really funny. They would dance to like, Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies,’ and it was funny to see guys out there with that music.”
Overall, Delta Gamma was extremely happy with the results this year and look forward to future Anchor Splash events.
“This year I think went really, really well. We had a large turnout, which is exciting, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves,” O’Neill said. “I’m really excited we raised so much money this year and I hope the upward trend continues.”
