One hundred young ladies in crimson dresses attended a Red Dress Gala for their sorority, Alpha Phi. The event was their fifth annual silent auction, which brought in around 200 guests including family members of the sorority members, friends and community members.

After Alpha Phi’s Red Dress Gala a record-breaking amount was raised for their philanthropy: women’s heart health. The first time Alpha Phi had a silent auction they raised $3,000 and this year they have nearly doubled their profit, earning close to $6,000. Selling items that the sorority sisters obtained by way of donations mostly from local businesses earned the money.

The large variety of items offered ranged from items targeted for women and items targeted for men, even Alpha Phi products. These included toolboxes, jewelry, Lily Pulitzer items and an assortment of gift cards. 

Mollie Jeck, the Director of Philanthropy, enlightened on the subject of money earned.

“Throughout the 2013-2014 academic year we have raised over $11,000 for our philanthropy,” she said, “which is record-breaking for our chapter to date.”

Alpha Phi has been improving and impressing constantly since joining Ashland University on April 15, 1967. Working hard to plan and coordinate events has been a huge part of this improvement.

Frankie DiCesare, the Vice President of Marketing, was a big part of the planning of the event, which started in the spring semester with arranging a location. 

“From there we planned the entertainment and a speaker from Samaritan Hospital who spoke about the importance of heart health,” said Jeck. “After that, we set donation deadlines for chapter members and began finishing the final touches.”

With some help from their marketing department, Alpha Phi has been executing exceedingly successful silent auctions and this continued improvement is why the event has become annually scheduled. 

It is also important to note that women’s heart health is a worthy cause and the donations earned for the philanthropy is always growing. 

“Heart disease is the number one killer of women so we believe that education and prevention are necessary steps to reduce these outstanding statistics,” said Jeck. “All profits from this event were donated to the Alpha Phi Foundation in order to meet these goals.”

Jeck said she is excited about the amount of money raised, and can’t wait to see where it will go in the future.

“This is a record-breaking year for our donation to the foundation with over $11,000,”she said. “It is a sensational achievement and here’s hoping next year Alpha Phi will continue to progress and raise even more for their worthy cause, women’s heart health.”