Sorority hosts “Think Pink Drink Pink”

FMU sorority Zeta Tau Alpha (ZTA) has had an ongoing event called Think Pink Drink Pink throughout this semester in support of their philanthropy, breast cancer education and awareness.

The event involved holding booths on multiple occasions and adding new or different elements to each one so that the event was not repetitive.

According to Gabriella Ramos, a junior pre-nursing major who helped organize the event, the games that ZTA created for each booth session helped students get involved in the fundraiser.

Ramos said that the “bra pong” game the sorority had used the same concept as water pong. Players could purchase balls, three for a dollar, and toss them at bras attached to a board. For each ball that landed in a bra cup, the player won a piece of candy.

Another activity the sorority used was called “Pie an Eta Chi” which is a play on ZTA’s FMU chapter name. They used the breast cancer color, pink, for the whipped cream, and FMU students paid to pie them.

“It’s taking something that is already fun and putting a new twist on it,” Ramos said. “Each week we’ve tried to mix up our Think Pinks Drink Pink booths so that it isn’t any other bake sale. Who wouldn’t want to pie someone in the face or help save the tatas and score some candy playing bra pong?”

In addition to the games and activities that ZTA had at Think Pink Drink Pink, each booth session held a bake sale and lemonade stand. Although much of the funds raised came from the games and activities that are not typical of fundraisers at FMU, Ramos said both the baked goods and lemonade also drew in many students.

According to Ramos, each sorority and fraternity has a philanthropy that it raises money for, which is part of the value that Greek life puts back into communities. She said that all of the money that ZTA raises from fundraisers such as Think Pink Drink Pink goes towards breast cancer education and awareness.

Ashley Harris, senior English major, said that she and fellow ZTA members want students to respect their efforts to support something much bigger than their sorority, and she wants those efforts to appeal to the students of FMU.

Harris said that the name “Think Pink Drink Pink” comes from the fact that all of the food and drinks at the events are pink in support of breast cancer awareness, but also because the event is an attempt to promote mammograms and self-exams for female students.

“This is a way to promote breast cancer education and awareness in a fun and less-abrasive way [than other programs could be],” Harris said. “Breast cancer affects one in eight women who could potentially be our mothers, sisters, classmates, teachers or friends.”

Harris said she hopes that students will take away more from the event than just food and fun, but also a better understanding of the disease her sorority raises money to fight. Ramos said that this event has been very successful. ZTA raised close to $200 in the first week of the event and more than $100 in most of the following weeks. The sorority also raised $650 by holding a trivia night at local restaurant 1720 Burger Bar.

“I am beyond proud of our chapter this year and I think that we will easily double [the funds that we raised] last year,” Ramos said. “I think the reason we have been so successful is a mixture of the baked goods and the games. We have also had many donations that have made a huge difference.”

According to Ramos, Think Pink Drink Pink and ZTA’s philanthropy in general are dear to the members’ hearts. She said that each of the ZTA sisters either has family or friends who are fighting breast cancer or know someone with the disease.

She said she believes that because breast cancer is unfortunately common, the disease also affects many students and faculty, so they take the cause seriously. She said this personal connection to their philanthropy helps the FMU community make connections with ZTA, so they are involved in the fundraisers.

Ramos said that Think Pink Drink Pink will be a reoccurring event that students can expect to see at FMU both next semester and in the following years.