After much anticipation, the Alpha Eta Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was announced the winner of the sixth annual Florida A&M University Relay For Life. The Sigmas raised a total of $5,800. The fraternity also won last year’s Relay for Life, collecting $4,200.
The Beta Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta placed second, followed by a graduate student organization called the Masters of Public Health.
Xavier Durden, 24, social action chairman for the Sigmas, said his fraternity did several things to raise funds, including going around campus to ask various students for support and making personal donations.
Durden, a senior business administration student from Miami, said competition among individual fraternity members to see who could raise the most money also added to its Relay For Life success. The majority of the money was raised through sponsorships.
The Sigmas also hosted a nightlife event the same night as Relay for Life.
Durden said his fraternity is serious about community service.
“Its not all about the social aspect that people see majority of the time,” he said.
Typically, the results are announced soon after the event’s conclusion.
Durden said the event staff told him that accountants from the American Cancer Society were counting funds raised by Tallahassee Community College simultaneously with FAMU’s funds.
Elaborating on the delay, Atlanta native and Relay for Life Event Chair Amanda Byrd said, “At 8 a.m. the next morning, we received more money for the relay.”
Byrd, 22, a health science occupational therapy student, said, “It was so close between the top two teams. We had to make sure all the money was accounted for.”
Byrd was thankful for all of the organizations coming together to make Relay for Life a success.