Chi Omega and Alpha Tau Omega held a fundraiser event called Homers for Houston to raise money for Kingwood High School in Houston, one of the many schools in the area
suffering from the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The event took place on Oct. 8 at the Legion Fields from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Homers for Houston was a joint effort from the Chi Omega sorority and the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity to organize a home run derby that several Greek organizations could participate in. The winning teams received a cash prize from the total money raised.

About 15 teams participated, and the event raised nearly $700.

“For such short notice it showed how Greek communities care philanthropically and how much we wanna give back,” ATO President Jackson Marvin said. “It was nice to come out and spend a few hours during the day having fun together and raise money for this high school.”

However, the biggest source of the money came from the event T-shirts the two houses sold.

According to Marvin, an order form was sent out to the philanthropy chairs and presidents of all the chapters in the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association.

ChiO and ATO received more than 300 orders that together raised about $2,300.

“We wanted to donate $5 for every shirt, but since we got so many orders we actually ended up being able to get $7 for every shirt,” Kathleen Acord, external philanthropy chair of Chi Omega, said. “Plus, the T-shirt company decided to contribute an extra dollar for every shirt because they were really willing to help us out.”

ChiO and ATO also raised funds from the Venmo account they ran for donations anyone in the Mizzou community wanted to contribute. A few members of ATO sold coffee and donuts in Speakers Circle, giving students more opportunities to make contributions.

The fundraiser was initially planned by Kevin Murphy, a member of the junior pledge class of ATO, and Mercedes Mackay, the Panhellenic delegate of ChiO. They are both Houston natives and wanted to make a direct impact on their hometown.

“The main thing about why we chose a high school is because as 20-21 year olds, we are only a few years off from being in high school and we understand the school pride and being with your friends,” Acord said. “All the students in that school had to actually go to separate high schools and split up at the beginning of the school year because there wasn’t enough resources.”

ChiO and ATO have raised over $3,000 and are accepting donations until Thanksgiving break, when Murphy and Mackay will go back to Houston and hand over the check to the principal of Kingwood High School.

_Edited by Sarah Hallam | shallam@themaneater.com_