Delta Zeta Sorority hosted a jambalaya dinner fundraiser on Nov. 11 at Peltier Park in order to raise money for their national philanthropy project, The Painted Turtle Camp.
Prior to the jambalaya dinner, each Delta Zeta member was required to sell at least ten tickets, which were valued at $6.
Tickets could be purchased by family, friends and community members. Each ticket was worth one dinner plate that consisted of jambalaya, white beans and a dinner roll.
The Painted Turtle Camp is located in California and is a camp for youth ranging from ages 7-16 who suffer from serious medical conditions.
Those attending the camp are not charged any fees, and the camp holds programs throughout the year and hosts events such as the Los Angeles 5k Run and Marathon, Turtle Greed Island BBQ and the Camp Challenge Ride.
Besides the cause, the philanthropy suits Delta Zeta whose “mascot” is the turtle.
Cera Boatwright, nursing junior from Des Allemands and Delta Zeta’s philanthropy chairperson, plans to represent Nicholls’ chapter of Delta Zeta at the camp this year as a staff member so that she can show how the chapter “has helped keep up this camp for these deserving children.”
“It is a place for children to have fun, laugh and forget about their illness for a few weeks,” Boatwright said.
Throughout the event, members of Delta Zeta and male volunteers prepared the food and organized an assembly line to distribute the food in an orderly fashion.
Participants could also purchase sweets at the bake sale that the Delta Zeta’s set up.
Caroline Hebert, biology junior from Thibodaux and member of Delta Zeta, said she enjoyed this event because she got to spend quality time with her sorority sisters while also serving a great cause.
“The event was a success because we raised a lot of money and the food was good,” Hebert said.
Boatwright said that Delta Zeta raised approximately $5,000 at the fundraiser with close to 1,350 tickets sold.
Boatwright said that the philanthropy projects that Delta Zeta participates in annually are important because they make a difference in the lives of others.
Boatwright said that volunteering means much more to the ladies of Delta Zeta than just community service. It is an impacting experience to those they serve.
“Our creed states ‘to those whom my life may touch in slight measure, may I give graciously of what is mine,’ and we try to live by that saying daily,” Boatwright said.
Aside from The Painted Turtle Camp, Delta Zeta also will donate some of the profits from the fundraiser to local businesses in the Thibodaux area.
“Giving back to people around the nation and locally is a special thing, so we try to stay involved with as many service activities as possible,” Boatwright said.
Last year, Court Appointed Special Advocate, Chez Hope, and WRSO Bayou Country were among some of the businesses that benefited from Delta Zeta’s philanthropy efforts.
Boatwright explained that the sorority’s experience in coordinating this event was a “stressful, exciting, exhausting and rewarding” process. She said the event was difficult for the girls to plan because it was new, but they were pleased with the final outcome of their accomplishment.
“Knowing that we raised so much money is a relief and a joy,” Boatwright said. “I am so excited to be able to give a big profit to The Painted Turtle Camp.”
Next semester, Delta Zeta will hold their second annual Turtle Tug event as their philanthropic project for the semester. Other events include the Relay for Life and Chabert Medical Center’s Silent Auction.
Delta Zeta was founded in 1902 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio acording to the group’s website.