A joint fundraiser held by the Delta Phi Omega inc. sorority and Pakistani Student Association raised $806 for the Lebanese Food Bank.
The Oct. 9 fundraiser was meant to raise awareness about Israel’s recent invasion of Lebanon and the ongoing war in Gaza. Organizers also wanted to directly contribute to humanitarian relief efforts.
“Even though none of the girls in our sorority are Lebanese or Middle-Eastern, a lot of the issues that are happening in the Middle East are very interconnected with the issues happening in South Asia, and it really shows a lot of the colonization and racism a lot of third-world countries have experienced,” Mehreen Patel, junior and president of Delta Phi Omega, said.
The fundraiser offered bangles for $5, rings for $3, mango lassi for $4, small henna designs for $5 and large henna designs for $7. Around 70 students stopped by the fundraising table in the Busch Student Center from noon to 5 p.m., according to the organizers.
The sorority girls and another volunteer, junior Kaia Monaco, did the henna designs. Monaco learned how to do henna designs just 4 days prior to the fundraiser.
“I learned [henna] to help [Delta Phi Omega] with the fundraiser. I think it’s a good cause and it needs a lot of attention since there’s not a lot of conversations being had about it, so I was happy to be a part of it,” Monaco said. “I also love to draw, so it was in my wheelhouse.”
Mehreen said they chose to send the proceeds to the Lebanese Food Bank because the organization provides immediate food assistance to people in Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 2,229 people in Lebanon in the past year.
Delta Phi Omega is the only South Asian interest sorority on campus. They collaborated with the Pakistani Student Association for their Be the Change event, where the sorority partners with other South Asian organizations on campus for a service event.
“We wanted to do something related to our culture as South Asians while also being able to help a cause that resides outside of South Asia but relates heavily to us,” Saira Uddin, junior and Delta Phi Omega’s vice president, said.
Many of the students running the fundraiser felt deeply for Lebanese people due to cultural and historical similarities, Uddin added.
“I hold [the Lebanese people] very dear to my heart as someone who has also experienced political turmoil in my country due to colonizing forces, which is why it’s important to me. We all also feel like it’s horrible and it’s a cause that we really want to help out with,” Uddin said.
Attendees came to the event to not only get a henna design but to donate and raise awareness for this cause. Students donated in-person or virtually on platforms like Venmo.
“It’s a great fundraiser, especially to just bring awareness,” said Piya Patel, a freshman student who came for henna. “A lot of people are unaware of what’s happening in Lebanon right now, so raising money and awareness [about it] is great.”
The fundraiser surpassed Delta Phi Omega’s initial goal of $400, and organizers added that they would like to do similar fundraisers in the future.
“Fundraising events like these create a sisterhood between our organizations and our different cultures,” Mehreen said.
