On Sunday, Sigma Kappa hosted “Sigma Kappatizers” to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s.
Every year, Sigma Kappa hosts two large events to bring people’s attention to Alzheimer’s. This semester they decided to get local vendors involved and sell tickets at $5 per person, according to Tessa Wahlmeier, Sigma Kappa assistant vice president of philanthropic services and sophomore in secondary education.
“There is a ton more people than I expected,” Wahlmeier said. “I have been running around everywhere, so I think it is going smoothly.”
Wahlmeier said that before the event had even started, they sold approximately 300 tickets, and that number was expected to grow as the evening continued.
“This event is going really well so far,” Alexa Brockel, sophomore in biochemistry and Sigma Kappa member, said. “We are just kind of getting the first hour out of the way, but it seems to be consistently busy.”
Sigma Kappa had a wide variety of food to serve. Applebee’s catered mozzarella sticks, Buffalo Wild Wings catered wings and Insomnia Cookies catered an assortment of cookies. Sigma Kappa also prepared some of its own food, Wahlmeier said.
Alzheimer’s research is Sigma Kappa’s primary philanthropy, and this leads the members to be more aware of the disease, Brockel and Wahlmeier said.
“Being in medical biochemistry, we talk about (Alzheimer’s) a lot, and Sigma Kappa has gotten me involved in a lot of Alzheimer’s stuff,” Brockel said.
Brockel said these kinds of events make her appreciate her career path more. She said she was already aware of the Alzheimer’s disease and was decently knowledgeable about it, but she feels she has learned even more from being in Sigma Kappa.
Hannah Young, junior in human resources and management and member of Sigma Kappa, said she has really loved being a part of such an important cause.
“Before Sigma Kappa, I didn’t really know much about Alzheimer’s,” Young said. “My best friend, who is in the sorority with me, her grandma has Alzheimer’s and just hearing her stories about it has really grown my heart for it and just really made me want to be able to make an impact.”
Young said Alzheimer’s has impacted the lives of some of her sorority sisters and likes that they can make a difference in helping a cause close to their hearts.
“Because of the stories that I hear about how it affects families and how it can lead to a cause of death and just these facts about it makes me realize how we need to be more aware of it and how much of an impact it makes on so many people that are close to me,” Young said.
