Being the hands and feet of Jesus took the form of eating barbecue, enjoying bluegrass music and being together with family and friends as more than 850 members of the Union community gathered on Friday, September 29 for the Make-A-Wish Barbecue, sponsored by the Upsilon Chapter of Chi Omega.
The barbecue was the first official event on the schedule for Union University’s family weekend. Five dollars from every ticket sold covered the cost of food while the remaining five dollars goes straight to Make-A-Wish. It was a record-breaking year for the barbeque, but the final total for the money raised has not been released yet.
“I am humbled by the support we received from so many in order to make this our most successful barbecue yet,” Chi Omega community service chair and senior psychology major Becca Robertson said. “I love supporting Make-A-Wish because when we raise money, we then get to love and serve a specific child and family, so we see exactly where every dollar we raise goes.”
Since 2002, the Chi Omega National Fraternity’s official philanthropy has been Make-A-Wish. According to the philanthropy’s mission statement, “Make-A-Wish serves a unique, and vital, role in helping strengthen and empower children battling life-threatening medical conditions.” Make-A-Wish meets families at a very dark and difficult time in life and offers hope as well as solace amid much stress. In the past 10 years, the Upsilon chapter at Union University has granted many wishes for families and has donated well over 80,000 dollars to the philanthropy.
While Make-A-Wish is their official philanthropy, the ladies of Chi Omega acknowledge that there are so many ways to be involved and to serve people both immediately in Jackson and across the world. Robertson shared that it is so crucial for people to recognize and then meet the needs of those around them, regardless what philanthropy they directly help.
“In a time like college when it’s so easy to be selfish, it is the best to help someone else,” sophomore elementary education major Kate Mascolo said. “Working the barbecue is just another way that we get to help Make-A-Wish and raise money to grant wishes, and it was incredible seeing everyone come out to support our philanthropy.”
Chi Omega will sponsor another event to support Make-A-Wish in November while other Greek organizations on campus, too, will hold events throughout the remainder of the semester to increase awareness, raise money, and involve the Union community in serving others.
