Alpha Chi Omega is raising money for Sistercare, an organization that helps survivors of domestic violence and their children, for their fall philanthropy event "Paint War 2016: Painting for a Purpose."
The event encourages teams to keep their banner as clean as possible. Each team, consisting of up to 15 individuals, is given a specific color and a banner with their organization name or team name on it. Despite paint flying, the teams must preserve the pristine state of their banner. In addition to the paint war, the event will feature a speaker from Sistercare.
Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the event. The event will take place on the Greene Street Fields on Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 5-7 p.m. This engaging fundraiser is an creative way to raise money and awareness about domestic violence and its prevalence in the Palmetto State.
“I really hope this hits home," said Cassidy Onley, second-year exercise science student and the sorority's vice president of philanthropy. "This isn’t a joke. This is prevalent: this happens on our campus, this happens in our state.”
South Carolina was ranked the state with the most violence against women in 2015, with deaths from domestic violence totaling more than twice the national average.
One of Alpha Chi Omega’s mottos is “real, strong women,” and Olney said that the survivors of domestic violence exemplify this motto.
Onley said that while raising money for Sistercare is the event’s main goal, reaching a school-wide audience instead of just a Greek-wide audience is another.
Debbie Clark also contributed to this story.