Members of the Chi Omega chapter at Texas Tech planned a week’s worth of fundraising events and raised more than $15,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. In the past, Chi Omega has hosted one event to raise money for Make-A-Wish but this year, sorority members chose to host five different fundraisers.
“Our focus was just getting Make-A-Wish out there,” Kristen Mills said. “Rather than just one large event, we wanted small events where people could feel like they were giving back in ways that they could.”
Mills is a senior at Texas Tech and a member of Chi Omega. She helped plan the various fundraisers which included “give back” nights at local restaurants, a raffle, a dessert party and a concert. Chi Omega also collected donations *online.
“What’s really awesome is all the money that we’re raising throughout the week stays here in Lubbock for the North Texas chapter so we’re actually able to see our money put out into the wishes that are actually here, right in front of our faces, rather than just writing a check and sending it off and not knowing what happens to it,” Mills explained.
On average, it costs about $9,000 to grant one child his or her wish. Mills said Chi Omega had hoped to raise enough to cover the cost of a wish but after “wish week” wrapped, she estimated the chapter had collected enough money to grant at least two wishes.
“We hope that the Lubbock community sees that there’s young people out here making a difference for the Lubbock community, it’s really cool.”
*You can donate to Make-A-Wish by clicking here.
