Members of Lambda Chi Alpha won Chi Omega Fraternity’s Sky’s the Limit wiffle ball tournament in the small gym of the Penick Academic Complex on Saturday.
The fundraiser brought in between $2,000 and $2,500, enough money for Chi Omega to grant the wish of an 18-year-old girl with a life-threatening illness through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They are sending the girl and her family to Disneyworld on April 6.
The double elimination tournament included six teams sponsored by several campus organizations. Savannah Hari, sophomore sports medicine major and Chi Omega’s community service chairwoman, planned the fundraiser. The tournament’s original plan was to have men and women’s brackets, but because of the small number of teams, Hari decided to have a bracket for both men and women.
“I think (playing each other) makes today more light-hearted and not as competitive,” Hari said.
Chi Omega awarded gift baskets to the top male and female teams, originally intended for the winners of the men’s and women’s brackets. Each basket included gift certificates from several local businesses such as Moe’s, Zaxby’s and Sweet CeCe’s. Zeta Tau Alpha won the women’s prize, and Lambda Chi Alpha won the men’s prize.
Adam Hamaker, sophomore business management major and member of the winning Lambda Chi Alpha team, said the biggest challenge was hitting.
“(The bat) was really light, so it was difficult to hit the ball,” Hamaker said.
The Most Valuable Player award and its prize of free ice cream for a year went to Connor Tummins, the 7-year-old brother of Amber Tummins, freshman nursing major and member of Chi Omega. One of the teams recruited Connor Tummins to play on their team for the tournament.
Hari said she is thankful Chi Omega gets to meet the girl to whom they are giving the wish this year.
“If the children don’t live in the Jackson area, we just send money to Make-A-Wish but never meet them,” Hari said.
It costs a minimum of $5,000 to grant a child’s wish with through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The rest of the funds needed to grant this wish came from donations from alumnae and local businesses and fundraisers in the fall.
“A lot of campus organizations try to help each other out with fundraisers like this one,” Hamaker said. “It’s even better when we can help Chi Omega out while we’re having fun as well.”
