Sorority Raised $185 Million For St. Jude Since 1999 Through Pancake Suppers.
Tri Delta, the women's fraternity with more than 130 chapters across the United States and Canada, announced at its annual celebration in Memphis on June 11th that it has raised $25 million toward its current fundraising commitment to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, marking the first major milestone in a 14-year pledge to contribute $100 million to the hospital by 2038, which will coincide with the sorority's 150th anniversary. The announcement was made by ALSAC President and CEO Ike Anand as balloons dropped from the ceiling in front of approximately 400 Tri Delta members assembled from chapters across both countries, and when the number was confirmed the room erupted. Since first partnering with St. Jude in 1999, Tri Delta has now raised a total of $185 million for the hospital, a figure that makes it the first Greek organization and one of only five organizations of any kind, alongside Domino's, Best Buy, Chili's, and Signet Jewelers, to reach the $100 million fundraising milestone for St. Jude. None of this has come from a single major donor or a corporate matching program. It has come, dollar by dollar and year by year, from chapter-led pancake suppers called Delta House of Pancakes, campus dodgeball tournaments, five-kilometer walks, and a letter-writing campaign called Sincerely Yours in which members write directly to donors to share why the cause matters to them.
The money Tri Delta raises goes toward ensuring that families who bring their children to St. Jude never receive a bill for treatment, travel, housing, or food during their time there, allowing them to focus entirely on helping their child through one of the most difficult periods any family can face. Tri Delta Place, the short-term housing facility on the St. Jude campus used by patient families, was named in honor of the sorority's decades of commitment to the hospital. Tri Delta's interim CEO described the $25 million milestone as putting the organization well on its way toward the $100 million goal, and said the women of Tri Delta have made it clear that their work will not stop until they have helped fulfill the dream of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas that no child should die in the dawn of life. With $75 million still to raise and 12 years remaining in the pledge, Tri Delta members across more than 130 campuses are already planning this fall's pancake supper.
