Yesterday the Nu Gamma chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma concluded the sale of raffle tickets to raise money for its organization and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
The women of Nu Gamma have been selling raffle tickets since the middle of October and wrapped up the sales yesterday at the Ekeley kiosk. The drawing for the prizes was held later that night.
The grand prize winner of the drawing will receive two tickets to the New Year’s Eve Denver Broncos game against the San Francisco 49ers. Other prizes include lift tickets, CU apparel, movie tickets and restaurant gift certificates.
This is the second year the organization has held this fundraiser. The women decided to do a raffle for the first time last year because they are a new organization on campus and needed to raise money, said Renee Torres, president of the Nu Gamma chapter and senior MCD biology major.
After having established their organization on campus, Torres said the women wanted to turn this fundraiser into something that would benefit the community and raise money for one of Sigma Lambda Gamma’s national philanthropies.
“The raffle has been really productive and hopefully people will know more about us and we will be able to raise more money in the future,” Torres said.
Ten percent of proceeds from this fundraiser will go to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Torres said the women hope to use the rest of the funds to sponsor a couple of events to promote diversity and cultural awareness.
The Student Organizations Finance Office will collect the money from the raffle. This spring, Sigma Lambda Gamma will find out how much money they made from the raffle and will receive a check from SOFO.
The Nu Gamma chapter of Sigma Lambda Gamma was founded at CU on July 20, 2006. The organization began as an interest group in fall 2004 and has been going through the process of establishing itself as a multi-cultural Greek sorority.
The organization has ten active members and one alumna who graduated last year. Six cultures are represented by these members: Mexican American, Italian American, Native American, Spanish American, African American and Puerto Rican American.
“We are definitely looking to expand because we value diversity in our lives,” Torres said. “We look forward to learning about other cultures.”
There are 109 nationalities represented by this Latino-based, multicultural sorority nationwide.
“As a sorority on the CU campus, our main goal is to provide a support system to encourage women to get through college and to provide a sense of community for women of color,” said Graciela Majera, a senior sociology major and vice president of marketing for Nu Gamma.
The five principles of Sigma Lambda Gamma are academics, community service, cultural awareness, morals and ethics, and social interaction, Torres said.
“I joined this sorority for several reasons, but what stands out to me is how much work (the members) have put into this sorority, their commitment to giving back to the community, and their emphasis on the importance of education,” said Cynthia Savedra, a sophomore psychology major.
Nu Gamma is open to all female students at CU and is looking to expand, Torres said. For more information visit www.colorado.edu/Greeks.
