For Ole Miss’ Panhellenic community, weeks of fundraising culminated in themed dance numbers and a whopping several hundred thousand dollars to donate to Court Appointed Special Advocates.
CASA is a charity that advocates for children within the foster care system by training community volunteers to help represent abused and neglected children during youth court, as well as assisting children in daily life throughout their cases.
Each year, UM sororities work with CASA to put on CASA Encore. The fundraiser encourages both monetary and blood donations for several weeks, concluding with a dance competition featuring a performance from each sorority.
Overall, the Panhellenic community raised $459,258 for the CASA of North Mississippi chapter this year. Historically, the funds raised by CASA Encore have helped enable CASA of North Mississippi to grow their programs and expand into a new building.
The tradition of CASA Encore started with the UM chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. When the chapter disbanded in 2018, the rest of the university’s Panhellenic community continued the annual fundraiser. Sororities are ranked by both amount of funds raised and points scored during the dance competition, with an overall winner declared.
This year, Alpha Omicron Pi raised the most money, $70,209.87, followed by Kappa Delta at $60,094.20 and Delta Gamma at $54,710.61. In addition, Delta Gamma scored first in the dance competition, with Kappa Kappa Gamma in second and Alpha Omicron Pi tying with Alpha Phi for third.
Kappa Delta was declared this year’s overall winner.
According to Delta Gamma freshman Grace Travis, participants in the dances practiced for weeks in preparation for the competition.
“The dance competition is one of the biggest parts of the fundraiser. It’s one of the main ways we raised so much money,” Travis said. “So we spent hours and hours each week making sure the performance was perfect.”
Chi Omega freshman Meredith Dees also described how much work went into preparing for the competition.
“We started practicing weeks before the competition,” Dees said. “It was typically about three days a week for a few hours each practice.”
Travis also explained ways money was raised.
“We made sure everyone knew what the fundraiser was for — that the money was for children in need,” Travis said. “We networked with people from different clubs, organizations on campus, hometown friends, parents, grandparents and others who could donate to CASA in order to help.”
While the largest part of CASA Encore is the fundraising efforts, both Dees and Travis stated working to raise money and preparing for the competition was an important and enjoyable bonding experience for sorority sisters.
“(The sororities) do a great job of making CASA a good experience while also keeping the focus on its purpose to help the charity,” Dees said.
Travis agreed, noting how the event helped her meet new people in her sorority.
“There’s something special about contributing to CASA as an individual and as part of a sorority. I’ve met so many new people, including some of my best friends now, through CASA Encore,” Travis said. “It really is a bonding experience because there’s so many rehearsals and so much time and effort each of us puts into the dance that’s ultimately to help children who need it.”
