The Delta Phi Omega sorority will host its tenth annual Breast Cancer Benefit Lunch in the Jackson Campus Center on Sunday, Nov. 2

The event will include a lunch and a silent auction in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and will conclude the sorority’s Breast Cancer Awareness month. All proceeds from ticket sales and the auction will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, recognized as the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.

“This is our biggest event as a sorority,” said Senior Chemistry Major and Delta Emily Degnan.
This is the tenth year that Breast Cancer Awareness Month has been hosted on campus by the Deltas. “It is really important to us,” said Junior Art Studio Major and Delta Jamie Dufek.

The month-long informational and fundraising activities are focused on getting students, faculty and community members aware of and involved in the fight against breast cancer.

In addition to the banquet and the auction, the benefit lunch will also include three speakers, all of whom have personal experience with fighting breast cancer. Two of the women are survivors of the disease, and the other is currently battling the condition. The silent auction will feature about 50 items collected by members of the sorority, some from donors in the St. Peter area and some from members’ home towns.

“[The benefit] helps us reach out to everyone, even beyond our own campus,” says Junior Psychology Major and Delta Jessica Stinson.

Each item presented for bidding is valued at a minimum of $25, including several baskets with various gift cards and smaller items. In addition to the benefit lunch, the Deltas also fundraised by selling t-shirts, collecting Yoplait yogurt lids and hosting a “Delta Dive Night” on Oct. 24.

Delta Dive Night spurred a lot of t-shirt sales and also free-will donations at the door. All of the proceeds from these activities, plus donations from local businesses and philanthropists, are given directly to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“We raised $6,000 last year,” said Junior English and Management Major and Delta Kelli Ludwig. “Our goal is seven thousand this year.”

Thanks to a $1,000 donation from Wal-Mart, t-shirt sales and donations at the Dive and the 200-250 projected guests at the benefit lunch, the Deltas are on track to reach their fundraising goal for the tenth consecutive year.