Chapter Philanthropy and Service
Philanthropy, when broken down to its roots, means “love of humanity.” In Zeta Tau Alpha, we show our love and commitment to our sisters and humanity through supporting breast cancer education and awareness. 1 in 8 women will battle breast cancer, and even more people will be affected by it and as Zetas, we believe those odds are too high, so we’re doing something about it.
At our national level, the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation partners with the American Cancer Society, the NFL, and Bright Pink. Our partnership with the American Cancer Society focuses on survivor recognition and through the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walks, we work to celebrate those brave men and women who have fought and beaten breast cancer. Our partnership with the NFL focuses on awareness and through the “A Crucial Catch” program, we are able to make pink not just another color. Our partnership with Bright Pink works towards educating women on proper breast health. Through their easily accessible video workshops, we help women understand their risk of developing breast cancer and how to take preventative actions.
At SLU, the women of Zeta Tau Alpha support our national partners throughout the entire school-year, not just during October. During the fall semester, we focus on the awareness aspect of our philanthropy by passing our ribbons on campus, organizing Think Pink games with the SLU athletic teams, and hosting our Think Pink Carnival during our philanthropy week, which ends with our main event of Big Man on Campus. In the spring semester, we focus on educating young women about assessing their risk of developing breast cancer and how to take preventative actions. We either go to each Panhellenic chapter individually and present the video workshops that Bright Pink provides us, or we put on an in-person workshop for the entire Panhellenic community.
In addition to raising awareness and spreading education, we also raise funds for the Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation during the academic year. Like most organizations, we do raise money through tabling on campus and hosting profit shares with restaurants in the St. Louis area, but over the past few years we have expanded our fundraising events. We have sold tickets to the Cardinals vs. Cubs game, partnered with Shred415 for a philanthropic sisterhood work-out class, and just started doing a new fundraiser called ZTA Eats where we deliver grilled cheese and cookies to students on campus during midterms and finals week.
Of course, these events would mean nothing if it weren’t for the support we receive from the SLU student body and extended community. Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. The majority of us right now have witnessed someone affected by this disease. That’s why our philanthropy is so important: it affects everyone. As ZTA sisters, we are a part of the prevention and early detection of breast cancer through the education we provide. We support those currently fighting, those who are survivors, and those who have lost the battle through awareness. We are a group of ambitious young women who understands what it means “to think in terms of all mankind and our service to the world” as is stated in our creed. We take to heart the opportunity we have to make a difference in the world and to be the voice of breast cancer education and awareness!
