Pi Beta Phi sorority at the University of Southern Mississippi hosted its inaugural “Baked Potatoes with Pi Phi” fundraiser on Wednesday, April 16, to raise money for literacy initiatives.
From 5 to 9 p.m., students, faculty, and members of the community gathered at the Pi Beta Phi house on campus to purchase baked potato meals. A baked potato and drink cost $6, while the addition of a cookie brought the price to $8. All proceeds benefited the sorority’s philanthropy, Read > Lead > Achieve.
Read > Lead > Achieve is a Pi Beta Phi national philanthropy that promotes literacy and supports efforts to help children who struggle with reading. Funds raised from the event will go toward the Pi Beta Phi Foundation and the organization’s literacy fund.
Lanie Abney, vice president of community relations for Pi Beta Phi, helped coordinate the event.
“Our philanthropy is about bringing awareness to children who can’t read,” Abney said. “Our philanthropic effort is to inspire a lifelong love of reading.”
Abney emphasized the importance of literacy support.
“One out of four children grow up unable to read, and we want to help lower this number,” she said. “One child, one moment at a time, one life changed forever!”
This was the first time the chapter held a food-based fundraising event at its house. Abney and Director of Service and Philanthropy Lurah Anderson worked together to develop the idea.
“We have been the only sorority for a while that has not held a food event at our house,” Abney said. “So, me and my director Lurah Anderson came up with this event.”
The baked potatoes were catered by McAlister’s Deli. Chapter members began setup at 3 p.m., arranging tables for guests and preparing a toppings bar that included nacho cheese, chili, shredded cheese, sour cream, chives, and bacon.
“My favorite part of the event was definitely seeing everyone from the FSL community coming together to help support our philanthropy and new event,” Anderson said. “It can be scary to start a new event like this, but everyone’s support made it a dream!”
In addition to “Baked Potatoes with Pi Phi,” the chapter hosts other events throughout the year to promote its philanthropic mission. These include a volleyball tournament, book drives, and a Fraternity Day of Service.
“This past semester we held our annual volleyball tournament, Arrow Spike,” Anderson said. “With this event, each team participated in a book drive. We raised over 400 books to donate to children in our local community.”
During the Fraternity Day of Service, Pi Beta Phi members distribute the donated books.
“During our annual Fraternity Day of Service, we are able to send each child home with a free book thanks to those donations,” Anderson said.
Abney said she was grateful for the support and community engagement during the event.
“I’m so glad that we came up with another way to raise money for our philanthropy, but I also love that we got to invite our community into our house and build more relationships with FSL and our community off campus,” she said.
