Zeta Tau Alpha, Iota Eta: Strike Out Cancer!

On a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon, Iota Eta held its first “Strike Out Cancer” softball tournament. Laughter, letters, and a love of philanthropy filled the air as sisters, alum, members of other Greek organizations and non-Greek organizations filled the softball stands to cheer on their teams.

As we all piled on sunscreen, drank gallons of water and crowded into little areas of shade, we were all reminded of how much we love our philanthropy and why all of our hard work is worth it.

Sisters cheering on the teams and getting some shade

Our director of philanthropy, Haley Findlay, worked on planning this event since January. She rented out two softball diamonds at Desert Bloom Park and all of the collegiate Zetas showed up bright and early to set up. Despite overwhelming heat and a lack of sleep, we were all excited to finally get our event started and showcase how hard we have all worked.

We had multiple sponsors for the event, as well as dozens of raffle prizes. Amongst the prizes were tickets to shows on the Strip, tickets to zip line on Fremont Street, salon gift certificates, homemade gifts from our sisters, hotel stay at Mandalay Bay, and restaurant gift cards. Curbside Café, a popular food truck in Vegas, was at the event and donated a percentage of the proceeds to our philanthropy. The owner’s wife recently survived breast cancer, so our cause hit close to home for him.

Some of our beautiful alum who came out to support us!

Sisters Chelsea Mitchell and Brandie Bradford showing off their cute philanthropy shirts!

Teams were assigned playing times and competitors on two separate fields. As the day went on, teams were slowly eliminated and through heat and dehydration both fields were narrowed down to champions. The champions were given trophies and the honor of winning the first ever ZTA Strike Out Cancer softball tournament!

It’s safe to say all of us Zetas would say this event was a huge success. Not only did we raise almost $5,000, but we reached out to more than just the Greek community and donated to a cause that impacts a huge amount of our sisters, peers, classmates, coworkers, family members and friends. We recently held a fundraiser at California Pizza Kitchen and after adding up all of our fundraising efforts for the semester, we are proud to announce that we raised $7,037!

Sister Callie Chesser cheering on the teams

Tiffany Jackson, Brandie Bradford and Christie Garland showing their Zeta pride

We are so proud to support breast cancer education and awareness and are very thankful for all of the members of the UNLV and Las Vegas communities that have supported us in raising money for a great cause!