On Friday Oct. 21, Villanova Delta Gamma collaborated with Pi Kappa Phi to host its annual Anchor Slam volleyball tournament to conclude its “Do Good” philanthropy week and raise money for its chapter’s philanthropy, Service for Sight. 

The tournament was held at the West Campus volleyball courts and was made up of 64 teams. All participants donated $5 to play in the tournament and attend the event. In total, the chapters raised more than $3,000 for Delta Gamma’s philanthropy, Service for Sight. 

Abby Song, one of Delta Gamma’s Directors of Anchor Slam, spoke about what the event meant to her.

“It was really exciting to see all the hard work we did to plan the event pay off,” she said. “Knowing we’re making a difference and bringing the Villanova community together to get involved makes it feel all the more successful.” 

Song worked alongside co-director of Anchor Slam Elizabeth Curley, Delta Gamma’s VP: Foundation Faith Kisker and foundation members Tess O’Hara and Gabby Slentz to plan the event. These members spent the weeks leading up to the event organizing tabling, scheduling restaurant fundraisers at Juice Pod and Honey Grow, communicating with the Office of Student Involvement and creating a bracket for the tournament. This year, the event included yard games, food and a live band. 

“We wanted to expand on the traditional volleyball tournament to make it a fun afternoon for everyone,” Song said. “Having the yard games gave people something to do to keep the event engaging, and the live music definitely added to the environment.” 

The chapters lucked out with a beautiful fall day for the event. There were nearly 200 participants and students playing volleyball, spikeball, cornhole, eating hot dogs and burgers, listening to the band or just hanging out and cheering on their friends. 

“Anchor Slam is one of our biggest philanthropy events of the year, and teaming up with Pi Kapp definitely brought in more participants,” Song said. “It was nice to have more people involved and it made it feel more like a community event, not just a DG event.” 

Collaborating with Pi Kappa Phi helped Delta Gamma get more people involved and raise more money for their philanthropies. Delta Gamma’s philanthropy, Service for Sight, is an organization that supports five schools for the blind and advocates for the visually impaired. Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropy, The Ability Experience, is a nonprofit organization that serves people with disabilities. The $3,000 raised from this Anchor Slam and Do Good week will be donated to Service for Sight. Pi Kappa Phi has decided to donate its portion of the money raised to Service for Sight as well. 

“This year’s tournament was one of the most successful, which was especially important considering we lost a year for Covid in 2020,” Song said. “It was exciting to be a part of bringing the traditional event back and even enhancing it a little bit. Of course. we would still love to see even more involvement in future years. This is my favorite event of the year, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.”

Delta Gamma and Pi Kappa Phi will continue to raise money for their individual philanthropies throughout the year. To receive updates about their events, follow @villanovadg and @novapikapp on Instagram.