Totika Spotlight: Alpha Delta Pi, Recipients of the 2016 Flame Award
Jacksonville, FL-For Alpha Delta Pi sorority at Florida State University, giving back to the greater good has always been a major focus. Raising over $80,000 in the 2015-16 academic year, ADPi was recognized by the Student Foundation with the Flame award, for best overall philanthropy for a large Greek organization.
We caught up with ADPi President Olivia Martins and Executive Vice President Leila Sabet to talk about their sorority’s success, the future of philanthropy for ADPi, and how giving back to the community has benefited their sorority more than they ever would have expected.
Student Foundation (SF): Well, congratulations on your award! Can you give me a quick overview of the events you held this year?
Olivia: Thank you! We usually host two events a year, but this year, we had one extra. Homers and Hogs, ADPiathalon, and the Phone-a-thon. The Phone-a-thon was the additional event, where we spent a week calling alums and advisors to raise money for the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation, which provides scholarships to sisters. This one was really cool, because we actually had a sister from our chapter win a major scholarship, so a lot of our efforts were benefitting her.
Leila: Homers and Hogs benefitted the ALS Foundation, and ADPiathalon benefited the Ronald McDonald House Charities. ADPiathalon was especially exciting for us, because Tallahassee actually has a Ronald McDonald house, so we were able to visit the local house and see the direct impact of our donations. They built a new kitchen, and seeing how much the local employees and families appreciated that was really a heartwarming experience for all of our sisters.
SF: How would you say that hosting such successful events has benefited your sorority as a whole?
Leila: One of our main goals for the past year has been to make sure our sisters can graduate with not only their minds enriched, but their hearts enriched as well. We placed a major emphasis on keeping the sisterhood in touch with the direct impact of our philanthropy. Our entire sisterhood worked hard on hosting successful events, and actually seeing the new kitchen at the Ronald McDonald house and knowing that one of our sisters won a scholarship was truly incredible. It unified us in a way we never expected, and enriched the hearts of all of our sisters.
SF: What are some problems you’ve run into in hosting your events this past year, and how do you plan to address them moving forward?
Olivia: Well, weather, of course. It seems like every time we want to have an outdoors event, there’s a threat of rain, so that’s never fun. But, thankfully, the weather always seems to clear up on time! Outside of that, I think a major issue in our philanthropies, and philanthropies in general, is keeping our audience in touch with the meaning of the event. While having a lot of people come out and support is great, I think it’d be very meaningful if everyone understood just how much good they are doing by participating.
Leila: I completely agree. I think next year, through PR, videos, and all of our outreach, we can shift the focus onto the good we are doing, and help spread a sense of selfless service through the entire FSU community. Florida State is a campus that loves to give back, and we love to keep our campus unified in those efforts.
SF: So in a general sense, how would you say the culture of philanthropy benefits the university as a whole?
Olivia: I think that as college students at a great university, we’re all very fortunate to be where we are… giving back helps us appreciate how fortunate we are to be here, which really does enrich our hearts.
Leila: For Florida State, a university with so many wonderful students, we really can become the university that gives back by celebrating our philanthropic efforts.
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