CHI OMEGA AND MAKE-A-WISH®
The Iota Alpha Chapter at SMU is so proud to support Chi Omega’s national philanthropy, The Make-A-Wish Foundation. This alliance was established in 2002, and Chi Omega has raised over 13 million dollars since then to help grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. As a chapter, our philanthropy events include Bid for Wishes, Work it for Wishes, and Chi O Cool-Off. Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to help our local chapter of Make-A-Wish® North Texas grant the wishes of several children each year. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to work closely with the North Texas office by volunteering, becoming Wish Granters, and spending time with wish kids and their families. Upon pledging Chi Omega, our new members even get the chance to tour the Make-A-Wish® North Texas office and see how all our efforts pay off. A wish experience is a dream come true and offers hope and courage during such a critical time for these children. We couldn’t be more honored to support such an amazing organization and we hope to see you at our events!
BID FOR WISHES
Every Spring during Chi Omega Parents’ Weekend, we host an auction benefiting Make-A-Wish North Texas. The event begins with a social hour reception for our graduating seniors, followed by a silent and live auction and dinner. Bid For Wishes is a fun evening including both a silent and live auction, as well as raffle items. A few items we auctioned off this past year included a painting from a local artist, multiple vacation homes, an African safari, and a painting made by a wish kid! Thanks to hundreds of donors, we are able to help raise thousands of dollars to donate to Make-A-Wish North Texas. Each year, we are able to invite a wish kid and their family to be our guest of honor for the evening, adding to their Wish experience. Bid For Wishes, our biggest event of the year, brings together our Chi Omega sisters, families, and friends to celebrate the work of Make-A-Wish North Texas. We can't wait to host our Chi Omega families again this year!
WORK IT FOR WISHES
Each Fall, we host a fashion show benefitting Make-A-Wish North Texas. Our Chi Omega actives work the runway in fashion-forward clothes from up-scale stores in the Dallas area. This year we were so excited to have Work it For Wishes in person again! Chi Omega paired with 5 local boutiques and each boutique was assigned a day where a portion of their sales was donated to Make-A-Wish North Texas. The actives modeled the clothes for over 100 guests. We were even able to have two wish kids walk in the show with us and their families got to attend in support. This was such a great way to partner with the local Dallas community to benefit Make-A-Wish!
Chi O Cool Off
As Summer comes to an end (but the heat decides to stick around), our Chi Omega sisters reunite and host an afternoon event called Chi O Cool Off with cookies, cupcakes, and La Croix's in front of our beautiful house. This is our first event back as sisters after the summer break to show the rest of campus and the community what we love about Make-A-Wish. All ticket sale proceeds to benefit Make-A-Wish. As our first event of the school year, our Philanthropy Chair and President speak to the group and remind us why we support Make-A-Wish.
