Delta Zeta will hold its second annual Hoops for Hearing event to benefit the Starkey Hearing Foundation, The Delta Zeta Foundation and The Center for Hearing and Speech. This event will contribute to Delta Zeta’s pledge to raise $5 million across universities nationally, starting in 2015.
On Oct. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Lambda Xi chapter of Delta Zeta will be hosting the basketball tournament in the Physical Education Activity Program building. These foundations aim to provide hearing assistance to those in need internationally, as well as delivering educational opportunities for those with hearing disabilities. All of the proceeds raised will go towards the foundations.
The event will have food items from DBQ and Tiff’s Treats available for purchase with food tickets for $10. It is free for those on campus to watch, enjoy and encourage the teams playing in the tournament. Ashley Gregg, kinesiology senior and the vice president for philanthropy at Delta Zeta, said that the event sets out to benefit both the local and national philanthropies that the sorority supports.
“This event will raise money so that we can send that off to our philanthropies,” Gregg said. “The national philanthropy will utilize that money to purchase more hearing aids to send off all around the world, and our local philanthropy will be able to use that money to provide tuition for those kids in need to attend the school.”
The Center For Hearing and Speech is an educational system for the deaf in Houston, while the national philanthropy is the well-known Starkey Foundation, of which Delta Zeta is a partner. Delta Zeta has a national goal to raise and donate $5 million to the Starkey Foundation by 2020. Gregg said this is the last year for them to reach that goal.
“It looks like we have a little under $1 million left this year to reach that goal,” Gregg said. “So our philanthropy will significantly contribute to that remaining amount for the pledge.”
According to Heart for Hearing, the Delta Zeta mission is simple: raise money for a cause not many others seem to notice.
“As the only premier women’s organization with a focus on Speech and Hearing, we use our philanthropy to protect hearing, raise awareness of noise-induced hearing loss and to bring the gift of hearing to people with hearing loss around the world,” the website said.
Recalling the success from the first year she worked with the philanthropy, Gregg said she could see the impact on the chapter and the students on campus.
“Starkey and the Center for Hearing and Speech are very close to me and getting to hear from them how much they appreciate what we do for them and the benefit of it all, especially with the local philanthropy,” Greg said. “We get to go down to Houston often and see it at work first hand and that kind of makes the stress of the event definitely worth it.”