Phi Gamma Delta 2011 Oregon Cure Relay, Supporting the LiveSTRONG Foundation
The Oregon Cure Relay is a philanthropic event coordinated by the gentleman of the Kappa Omicron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. The relay is based off of a similar relay between two Fiji chapters in Ohio and Michigan and benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation or LIVESTRONG. During this event we recruit professional and private sponsors to donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and sponsor our relay from the away team’s stadium to the home team’s stadium. You may ask why I mention the teams stadiums. I mention this because the event is held the weekend of the OSU and U of O Civil War Game. The baton that we pass is a football and celebrates brotherhood along with rivalry.
The 44-mile trek earned about $4000 for LIVESTRONG this year, which is a larger amount than previous years. The first year of the Oregon Cure Relay the event raised around $2300 and the second year it raised around $3500. It is easy to see that there is a continuous increase in donations each year. Some local sponsors involved include: Pita Pit, ThinkIt and Wehage Engineering Solutions. We also raised money by allowing sororities to compete for a social event with the men of Fiji. This Greek competition raised nearly $2000 alone this year. We hope that in future years more businesses and more of the community will become involved.The media has taken a liking to this particular philanthropy.
Phi Gamma Delta has been recognized each year in the Daily Barometer and has been shown on local news channels. A large hope of ours is that the community will recognize what we are doing to help those with cancer and become more involved. We always encourage donations, supporters and the media. This media coverage is very beneficial to our cause as well as the two universities. OSU and UofO can always use more media coverage and we feel that our efforts encourage others to become involved in philanthropic activities.Another way the community benefits from this event is by sponsoring it. A good example is the Pita Pit in Corvallis. The Pita Pit donated 30% of profits raised in one night before the event to the Oregon Cure Relay. This was a very helpful idea to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and generated a lot of business for the Pita Pit. By helping us to raise money, they effectively increased their net-profit for the night because of our help with advertisement.
