The fall season calls for an essential item: a pumpkin. And thanks to the Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority, students were able to purchase a pumpkin for a charitable cause Oct. 27.
The Gammas had a sale for small pumpkins on the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in the Center for Engagement and Inclusion from 4 to 6 p.m.
The pumpkins were one dollar each and all the proceeds were matched and went toward a breast cancer awareness foundation of their choice.
Alondra Moreno, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and the vice president of recruitment for the Gammas, said the fundraiser was very important to her.
“My godmother and my grandma both had breast cancer. I feel like while there are a good amount of resources, there is space for more funding for programs to gain more information about breast cancer,” Moreno said. “Us women need to start educating ourselves to catch the signs early. Also, being informed what those signs are, because it’s better to find out sooner than later, before it gets even more aggressive.”
Moreno, who has previously done volunteer work with her church in Chicago, said she has always known the importance of giving back to the community.
“You should always give back to where you came from and always go back to your roots. I feel like when you do community service, you learn more about that community and what the community is all about,” Moreno said.
The Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority was founded in 1990 and was created to empower Latina women nation wide.
Clarissa Martinez, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences who joined the sorority in the spring 2021 semester, said she is grateful to be surrounded by a group of Hispanic women at a predominantly white institution like Marquette .
“It’s just given me a place to call home on campus,” Martinez said. “It can be difficult for students of color, to find a place where you feel comfortable and fit in, and this sorority has definitely given me that.”
Martinez, who is a part of the sorority’s marketing team, said she has also learned a lot within her short time with the Gammas.
“It’s given me a lot of skill and strategy to use for just the future,” Martinez said. “Like how to get the word out, how to fundraise, how to put together an event. And just how to organize and work on a professional level.”
Leslie Sanchez, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that this pumpkin sale is just one of many the good deeds the group plans on doing.
“Our goal this year is to hold one fundraiser every month to help our philanthropies, which are Breast Cancer awareness or the Trio Program,” Sanchez said. “We also do fundraisers for any other causes that we see fit with our principles.”
Those principles, as they call them pillars, are community service, academics, cultural awareness, social interaction and morals and ethics. The pillars are highly involved within the sorority’s events.
Members of the Marquette community can learn more about the Gamma’s future events on their Instagram, @og.gammas, and their Facebook, Marquette U Gammas, as the ladies continue to make positive differences within the Milwaukee community.
This story was written by Rashad Alexander. He can be reached at [email protected].
Check out the audio package for this story by A&E Audio Producer Julianna Okosun.