More than 400 people watched Delta Zeta’s Mallory Hackett be named the 2017 Rose Queen of Pi Kappa Phi on March 3.
She and her Delta Zeta sisters were one of the 14 Purdue sororities who participated in the chapter’s annual War of Roses event raising money and awareness for The Ability Experience and people with disabilities. Activities were spread out over five weeks that included an empathy dinner, flag football tournament, sheet sign competition, t-shirt and ticket sales. The War of Roses capstone event was the talent show in Purdue’s Loeb Playhouse.
The top three Rose Queen contestants and their related organizations included: Ana Coello, Kappa Delta, third place; Mary Tremaine, Phi Mu, second place and Hackett, Delta Zeta, first place.
Pi Kappa Phi members surround the Delta Zeta talent show team and the 2017 Rose Queen on stage at Loeb Playhouse on March 3, 2017.
Chi Omega also won the sheet sign competition. Delta Zeta sold the most t-shirts raised the most funds for The Ability Experience. Sigma Kappa sold the most tickets to the talent show.
Zeta Tau Alpha won the flag football competition, The Rose Bowl.
The War of Roses programming raised nearly $6,300 toward the chapter’s annual Ability Experience fund-raising. From the proceeds, the chapter will also be donating $250 to The Starkey Hearing Foundation, Delta Zeta’s philanthropy.
“We received an amazing response in terms of participation from both brothers and the participating sororities,” said Pranit Das, the chapter’s Ability Experience chairman.
“The thing that stands out the most to me about the Ability Experience is its focus on service. At our chapter, does numerous programming events that give us an opportunity to interact with people with disabilities on a more personal level day in and day out.”
The War of Roses is one of five things of the school year that benefit people with disabilities.
In the fall, the chapter hosts the David Feltner Memorial Bike a Thon. That’s followed by a Halloween-themed costume party for clients of the Arc of Tippecanoe, Arctoberfest. In the spring, there’s the Pi Kapp 100, a 100-kilometer cycling event whereby riders and crew commit to fund-raising goal. And each school day, chapter members volunteer in special needs classes at Lafayette Jefferson High School.
And dozens of members – including 11 in 2017 – ride in the Journey of Hope, a cross-country, summer-long bicycle trek from the West Coast to Washington, DC each summer, too.
In each of the last seven years – and nine of the last 11 years – the chapter has raised more than $10,000 for The Ability Experience (www.abilityexperience.org). Since it first started fund-raising in 1980, the chapter has raised nearly $215,000.
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