Sigma Chi held their fifth annual Derby Days to raise money for Sigma Chi’s philanthropy, the Huntsman Foundation, on the week of April 4.
Throughout the week, competitive events were held to involve students and raise money. Students from all around campus formed teams of eight people to compete to raise the most money for the cause, and claim the first place title.
Monday began the week with Derby Dollars, an event where teams had to hunt for brothers of Sigma Chi all around campus, who had trivia questions for them to answer. If the team answered the question correctly they were given a derby dollar and the team with the most derby dollars won that event. That night, teams joined in Bartels Hall to create and present a team banner; the team with the best banner won.
On Tuesday, teams had to collect Derby hats from Sigma Chi brothers around campus to earn points. A lip sync battle took place that night where teams were required to come up with three routines, each to a different song, to compete in three rounds for a first place title.
Two events took place throughout the day on Wednesday. There was a bake sale in Bartels; each team provided a baked good to be sold. Later on, there was also a dunk tank, where students could pay for chances to dunk brothers of Sigma Chi.
That night, Sigma Chi hosted “Derby Daddy Dress Up” in the German Club. Teams dressed up their Sigma Chi ‘Derby Daddy’ to compete in four different themed rounds. The first round was formal themed, the second one beach themed, the third one country themed, and the fourth a creative round. Teams were then judged and a winner was announced.
Thursday teams raced around campus in the “Snap a Sig” competition. The goal was to take as many photos with brothers of Sigma Chi as possible, and the team who had the most photos at the end of the day won. That night in Bartels was a “Minute to Win It” race where teams competed in five rounds: Water Fall, Polar Plunge, Mad Dog, Hut Hut Hike, and one surprise round. On Friday, the week was wrapped up by counting the totals for Penny Wars, an event that had been going on continuously all week. Each team had their own jar and the objective was to get as many pennies as possible; other teams could sabotage using silver coins and dollars. Once the Penny Wars total was calculated the overall winner for the week was announced. The winning team was ‘Mary had a Little Lamb-Da Epsilon,’ a team of Delta Phi Epsilon sisters.
The motto of Derby Days was “We are the generation to end cancer,” perfectly reflecting each team’s spirit and dedication to the cause. At the end of the week, the total money raised was announced. The goal had been to raise $20,000, however the UNH community surpassed that raising $27,589 for the Huntsman Foundation. All money raised throughout the week went directly to cancer research, a cause close to the hearts of many students in the UNH community.
“My Grampa and Grampy both passed away from cancer six years ago, my Gramma just survived cancer, my Grammy is a survivor, and my friend from back home is battling her third fight against Ewings Sarcoma,” said freshman participant Shannon Connery. “So, this sickness is really close to my heart.”
The event meant so much more than winning to so many students; it was a chance for the UNH community to join together to raise money and to support each other as well as many cancer survivors. “It meant joining together to show our support to everyone battling cancer,” said Connery.
Overall the week was a huge success, raising more money than was expected and joining students together for an incredibly important cause. The UNH Chapter of Sigma Chi became the fourth highest fundraising chapter for their national philanthropy.
