Team members from ASU's Zeta Beta Tau fraternity work together during one of their kickball games in Tempe on Feb. 8. ASU sorority Alpha Chi Omega hosted the tournament to raise money for the Autumn House. (Photo by Amanda Jensen)
In Arizona, one rape occurs every four hours and 35 minutes.
To help fight this and other domestic violence issues, ASU’s Alpha Chi Omega chapter united with domestic violence organization A New Leaf to raise money and awareness for the cause with a kickball tournament Saturday.
Global health and biological sciences sophomore Audrey Elms, AXO's vice president of philanthropy, said the proceeds will benefit the Autumn House Domestic Violence Shelter, one of the organization's four shelters.
“This is our first year doing it, so I didn’t have a start goal yet, but I’m sure we raised $5,000 if not more,” she said.
The event was held at ASU’s Sun Devil Fitness Complex fields, where 17 fraternities competed in a kickball tournament, a relay and a three-legged heels race. Participants also could “Pie an Alpha Chi,” where $1 got them the opportunity to pie a member of the sorority, according to a press kit.
Nutrition major Kendra Swanson, the chapter president, was one of the lucky ones to get pie-faced.
“I wasn’t expecting it. ... One of my friends tricked me, and she came up and started talking to me and all of a sudden one of the guys came up behind me and threw it," she said. "But it was fun. It was all for a good cause."
The sorority has been devoted to the fight against domestic violence for many years, creating multiple events bringing the community and Greek student body together in support of the cause. This year’s event brought together more than 600 members of the Greek community, Elms said.
This was the first year this event was held.
Members of Alpha Delta Phi celebrate with their supporters after a big win. (Photo by Amanda Jensen)
“I think we had a great turnout. ... This is really something that we love to (do, and) it was just an amazing opportunity for all of us to come together and raise awareness, so I’m really happy and look forward to our event next year,” she said.
The Autumn House and AXO have worked together in the past, as domestic violence is its national philanthropy.
Dana Martinez, the program manager at the Autumn House, said there is a huge need in Arizona for domestic violence shelters.
“We're full most of the time, unfortunately,” she said. “We serve men, women and children who are victims of domestic violence. They can come and stay for up to 120 days, we provide them with all their basic needs ... and we give them case management services, work with them to get job and a house, parenting skills with their children and we have groups that are available for them just to help them build their self-esteem.”
About 50 percent of the Autumn House clients are children and women, Martinez said.
“We’ve had teenagers (and children) there before ... that have experienced violence along with their mom," she said.
Many of ASU’s organizations have helped this shelter in the past, such as the School of Social Work and law students, who have used their skills to help victims in legal issues in custody, divorce and family law issues, Martinez said.
People who are interested in helping A New Leaf in doing an event or volunteering should call the Developing Department at 480-464-4648.
Reach the reporter at agloya@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @loyadriana
Correction: Because of an editing error, the caption with the second photo in this article incorrectly identified the fraternity pictured. It has been corrected.
