The Delta Chi Theta Sorority raised about $2,500 for a local animal shelter during their annual Car and Dog Wash charity event on Sept. 18.
The event took place at Centennial Hall parking lot from 12:30-3:00 p.m. There was no fee for the service, but donations were encouraged. The ladies said that all the money raised will go to the Quad City Animal Welfare Center.
The center, located in Milan, is the only full-service, non-kill shelter in the Quad-Cities area. The shelter houses homeless animals and offers a spay and neuter program. The shelter is non-profit, so they rely solely on donations and the adoption fees for the animals. The sorority held a vote last spring to decide what organization they would be most passionate about, and the number one choice was the Welfare Center.
“We talked about ideas and that’s when we came up with the slogan ‘We don’t buy our friends, we adopt them,” said Elise Cather, a senior and the Service and Philanthropy Chair for the sorority. Cather and the other philanthropy chair, sophomore Melette Devore, started working on this project mid-summer. They came up with ideas and got ready for the rest of the girls to work when they came back to school in the fall.
“The best part was washing the dogs. I love animals. I also enjoyed taking a break and holding up the signs to help get people to come,” sophomore Rachel Lee said. She talked about how the ladies made dog treats for those who donated to the cause. They also sold t-shirts and donated the extra money made to the shelter.
Lee was one of about 50 members who came to work the event. Along with raising money, many of the girls will be volunteering at the shelter. Cather said that about 40 girls have been trained to help with walking the dogs, socializing with them to make them feel more comfortable in the environment, and helping to get all the animals adopted.
Cather credited the success of the event to the extra promotion they created for the day. They made posters, talked about the event on social media, asked the animal shelter to promote it, and even sent personal emails to family members to encourage them to participate. Family, faculty, community members, and even the local news came to the charity event.
Cather hopes the girls will continue to hold a dog and car wash every year, especially since this year was so successful and everyone involved had fun.