Getting Groovy on the Quad!

The Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority hosted a Dance-A-Thon philanthropy event on Oct. 2. The event took place at the Bobby Valentine Health and Recreational Center on Sacred Heart University’s campus, from noon to 6 p.m.

The Dance-A-Thon event had a live DJ playing music, zumba sessions, raffle baskets and giveaways, refreshments, relay races, hula hooping and a performance from senior Ben Carson.

“For this event, the whole SHU community is invited, including all students and faculty. We even reached out to the dance and theater program as well as many sports teams.” said senior Allyson Ferreira, Philanthropy Chair of Phi Sigma Sigma. 

Ferreira has a big dancing background and came up with the idea of a Dance-A-Thon during her summer break. She was able to get help from her two assistants, Amelia Neal and Francesca Lanni, to organize this new event.

The Dance-A-Thon went on for six hours, and is open for anyone who would like to stop by.

“Don’t be misled by the name ‘Dance-A-Thon’, we aren’t dancing for 6 hours straight. We have various activities happening at different times throughout the day,” said Philanthropy Chair Assistant, Francesca Lanni.

Being that this is a new event, Ferreira had to advertise the Dance-A-Thon by setting up table times. This required both Ferreira and members of the organization to stand outside of 63’s, and talk to individuals about this event. Both attendance and participation played a big role in the success of this event.

“All the Phi Sigma Sigma sisters were at the event, which is roughly around 200 people! On top of that we had around 20 other participants for this event! We invited all cohorts of people to join, but mainly FSL individuals came,” said Ferreira.

Due to unpredictable weather conditions, Phi Sigma Sigma had to adjust the location of their event.

“This event was originally supposed to take place in the Upper Quad, but the weather wasn’t as great as we wanted it to be. We ended up relocating to the indoor Basketball Court at the Bobby Valentine Health and Recreational Center,” said Ferreira.

Phi Sigma Sigma was able to raise over $6,000 for their philanthropy, the Phi Sigma Sigma foundation. Within their foundation they raise money for “The Kids In Need foundation,” which ensures that less fortunate kids get school supplies and resources donated to them. In addition to this, there’s the “Twin Ideals Fund,” which includes a community impact fund whenever there is a natural disaster.  As well as, Phi Sigma Sigma partner’s with the local Bridgeport area schools to raise money and donate supplies.

Aside from their own foundations, Phi Sigma Sigma also finds ways to support others who are struggling in recent tragedies.

 “I’m sure we will be donating to people in Florida especially with this new hurricane that’s going on,” said Lanni.

Ferreira’s goal of the event was to not only raise money for charity, but to also provide a bonding opportunity for the Phi Sigma Sigma organization and the Sacred Heart community.

 “This event definitely connected our sisterhood because we did various activities throughout the event such as relay races, limbo contests, zumba and more,” said Fereria. “It felt so rewarding seeing everything set up and run smoothly for this event. A lot of planning went into the event with some major and some minor details, so I’m glad it came out as well as it did!”

You can follow Phi Sigma Sigma on Instagram to see more details for upcoming events and more @phisig_shu.

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