Lehigh After Dark, Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Theta Chi fraternity teamed up to commission Moe’s Southwest Grill to host a charity event in Lamberton Hall on Thursday.
The “Queso for CASA” event cost $3 to attend and was inclusive to the entire undergraduate population at Lehigh The event featured a nacho bar with cheese, salsa and peppers, a photo booth, music, a raffle and other activities. The proceeds of the event benefitted Kappa Alpha Theta’s philanthropy, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Theta Chi’s philanthropy, United Service Organizations.
This is the second year of the Queso for CASA event, and the original inspiration for the idea came from a Theta chapter at Quinnipiac University. In its first year, the event raised over $1,000 with more than 200 students in attendance.
“I’ve never been to a fundraising event on campus before,” Fanny Chen, ’18, said. “Going again to a similar event would be fun, especially if I brought a large group of friends, like maybe the girls in my dorm hall.”
Elizabeth Hickey, Kappa Alpha Theta’s philanthropy chair, said that the Lehigh chapter decided to host the event after seeing how much success the Quinnipiac chapter had.
“We have one signature philanthropy event in the spring, Kicks for CASA, but wanted another more inclusive campus-style event in the fall to continue to support our philanthropy.”
Before the event, Hickey was optimistic about this year’s attendance.
“We have really high hopes for the event turnout this year and are hoping for over 300 attendees over the course of the evening,” Hickey said. “We have 140 people going in the Facebook group and all of the sisters of Theta and brothers of Theta Chi have heard really positive and exciting things from their friends, so we hope it goes well.”
The event upheld Lehigh After Dark’s mission, which states “to provide support for programs that provide undergraduate students with quality social, cultural, intellectual and community development activities that do not focus on alcohol and are open to the entire Lehigh community.”
The event met such stipulations, while adding value to the community outside of Lehigh through the charitable donations to Court Appointed Special Advocates and United Service Organizations.
The goal of Court Appointed Special Advocates, according to the organizations website is, “to provide consistent, credible and trained volunteers who investigate, facilitate, monitor and advocate for Lehigh County’s abused and neglected children in juvenile dependency court.”
Theta Chi’s portion of the proceeds benefits United Service Organizations, whose mission is to, “lift the spirits of America’s troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide. We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services.”
The planning members of Queso for CASA from Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and Theta Chi fraternity are giving 100 percent of the proceeds to their respective philanthropies.
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