On Friday, December 9, Phi Sigma Sigma held their Winter Wonderland Charity Banquet to celebrate the conclusion of their Giving Tree program. This semester, the sorority has worked with the Giving Tree Foundation, which seeks to provide holiday presents to children in families that are unable to provide them. For each child sponsored, two gifts are provided: one that the child wants and one that they need. In total, this came down to about $70 per child. To aid in supporting as many children as possible, Phi Sigma Sigma’s fundraising chair Jackie Botchman asked for the help of offices and organizations on campus. Thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, Phi Sigma Sigma was able to raise enough money to provide gifts for over 70 children, which came out to over $4900 raised!
The banquet, held in the German Club from 9:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m., brought the sisters of Phi Sigma Sigma along with representatives from supporting organizations together to celebrate everyone’s accomplishments. After attendees had the chance to get settled and eat, speeches were given from individuals involved in the fundraising efforts. The first speech was given by Alice Pierce, Case Manager at Christian Community Action and chair of The Giving Tree. She spoke about how astonishing the amount of money raised by UNH was and how everyone is not only giving money or gifts, but hope as well.
Following her, Chris Henderson and Tim Farmer of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, as well as a brother of Kappa Gamma Rho, all spoke on the contributions their fraternities made to the effort as well as reinforcing the importance of initiatives such as The Giving Tree. Afterwards, the president and advisor of Phi Sigma Sigma offered their own thanks. The last speaker, Botchman, thanked everyone for coming and commenced the final part of the banquet: the dancing! Everyone got on the dance floor and danced the night away, a great conclusion to a great banquet.
A huge thank you to Phi Sigma Sigma, The Giving Tree Foundation, and all of the groups that helped raise money for making the holiday season a reality for so many families!
