Dressed in neon spandex, sweat bands and knee-high socks, 12 men from various fraternities at Cal State Long Beach danced on stage for a packed house of screaming girls and gawking friends.
Last month, the men dressed in fishnet stockings, leopard print and short shorts, all for a good cause.
The fraternity members were strutting their stuff on stage for the male pageant called “Mr. Heartthrob.” The participants were judged on contests of personality, formalwear, swimwear, and question-and-answer.
“We raised about $4,500 for the American Heart Association’s Women’s Cardiac,” said Kelsey Karr, an undeclared freshman and chair of philanthropy for Alpha Phi Sorority at CSULB. “It wasn’t easy though. It took a lot of hard work.”
Karr said Mr. Heartthrob is one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Alpha Phi sorority and they had to work even harder this year to gain support.
“We did some things that were new this year, like we created an online video that we posted on Facebook, and that’s how we got more participation,” Karr said.
The Mr. Heartthrob event is one of many annual events that the Alpha Phi sorority does each year to raise money for their philanthropic cause.
“We plan different events to raise funds to support national and local causes,” Karr said. “It’s been more challenging with the economy, but if we make it fun for people, we will still get the support we need.”
Bianca Gillett, a junior kinesiology major and president of Delta Zeta sorority, said they have also made improvements to their events to make more money.
“It’s important for the philanthropy chair to communicate with the past coordinators so they can avoid mistakes,” Gillett said. “We have notes and binders from years and years ago.”
Gillett said that she had to work really hard to get donations for one of their events.
“When we had a pancake breakfast, it was hard to get donations, and we had to go back to the stores over and over again,” Gillett said.
“They would tell us to come back the next month, and we would have to wait and come back,” she continued. “It was important to be prepared and have our professional paperwork.”
The sororities earned close to $50,000 for philanthropic causes collectively for the 2010-11 school year, according to Caitlin Roberts, coordinator of Greek Life at CSULB.
“Sororities have continued to meet their goals for money earned towards their philanthropic causes,” Roberts said.
During the spring, sororities team with fraternities for the biggest fundraising event of the year – Greek Week.
Roberts said the week consists of activities and fundraisers to benefit One Heartland, an organization that plans summer camps for children who are HIV positive and their siblings, so they may have a normal camp experience.
Greek Week includes the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic and Cultural Greek Council, and takes place in two weeks.
Greek Sing, a group skit and dance competition consisting of teams of paired sororities and fraternities, will take place today in the Walter Pyramid.