Pi Beta Phi sorority is hosting its third annual Dance-A-Thon as part of its philanthropy week.

The week kicked off Monday with a money drop and a profit share. The profit share is at Firehouse Subs from 5 p.m.-close. Students are encouraged to go and say they are there for Pi Beta Phi.

Pi Phi Petit Fours will be on Tuesday from 4-10 p.m. at the Pi Beta Phi house. This is the first year the week will include this event.

Kayla Patak, Pi Beta Phi vice president of philanthropy, said the event aids with their fundraising efforts.

“This past year we ranked number one with our fundraising efforts to the Pi Beta Phi Foundation and we thought Pi Phi Petit Fours would be a great way to achieve number one again,” Patak said.

Petit Fours can be ordered at the house during that time period or if tickets have already been purchased, pickup will also be during that time. Tickets are $5 and will include three petit fours.

Wednesday, there will be a community service event for the other CPC and NPHC chapters to participate in.

“With our philanthropy being literacy, we love going to the DuBard School on campus to read to the children various times throughout the year,” Patak said. “We thought it would be [a] good idea to host an event there for other chapters to really get a look into our philanthropy and all that we do with it.”

Dance-A-Thon is Pi Beta Phi’s big philanthropy event. Every Greek organization has a team with a few Pi Beta Phi coaches. Both the coaches and the participants have to dance the entire event. There are also games such as limbo and a speed-read.

Thursday, the third annual Dance-A-Thon will take place in the Thad Cochran Center ballrooms from 5-8 p.m. Patak said she wanted the event to get more people involved on campus.

“In the past, we’ve held Dance-A-Thon off campus and though people came, we thought we could get more people involved by having it on campus,” Patak said. “Plus, we have really great resources here on campus and it’s overall been awesome planning the event with Event Services.”

This is the first time Pi Beta Phi has had a week of philanthropy events.

“We wanted to have a week full of events to help with our fundraising and involvement,” Patak said.

She said the sorority members worked really hard to put this week together.

“The whole chapter has worked really hard to help make these different events possible so I’m just really excited to see other chapters so pumped and ready to participate this week,” Patak said.
In 2012, Pi Beta Phi Dance-A-Thon fundraising efforts raised over $9,000 for the Pi Beta Phi Foundation and donated over 600 books to Hattiesburg schools.

Pi Beta Phi’s commitment to literacy dates back 100 years to the founding of a settlement school in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Pi Phi was solely responsible for all education in Gatlinburg until the 1940s and continued to provide educational and financial assistance until 1967.

Through numerous initiatives and unique partnerships, Pi Phi continues the tradition of supporting children and families in the fields of literacy and education.

For more information, contact Kayla Patak at [email protected].