Texas Tech Sigmas co-host comedy event for Yéle Haiti

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The co-ed pre-law fraternity Phi Alpha Delta teamed up with Delta Sigma Phi and Phi Beta Sigma to bring in comedian Corey Miller to raise money supporting Yéle Haiti for their Haiti relief comedy show last night.

Yéle Haiti began as a foundation as a way for people to help the country improve their health, education and communities, said Jasmine Crawford, Phi Alpha Delta president and a junior philosophy major from Houston. Started by Grammy-award winning musician Wyclef Jean, the organization now is focusing on the relief effort for the Haiti.

“(The money) goes directly to Haiti, and it’s not going to be distributed to any corporate executives or anything like that,” Crawford said. “If you look at pictures on television or on the Internet, it’s extremely devastating. It’s the same as Katrina when the houses were completely washed away, when people put themselves in their position they understand why they’re in need and that’s the reason why we chose to do this.”

Starting with nothing, the group fundraised $1,500 to bring Miller to Texas Tech, which was less than they originally planned. After explaining the situation to Miller’s publicist, they agreed to pay for their own airfare, decreasing the bill by more than $2,000, Crawford said.

“We had no money, we had nothing and it was just me,” she said. “I came up with a proposal and went to everyone in the administration and got donations.”

Businesses could sponsor the event for publicity on the programs, tickets and flyers. But even with the donations and sponsorships, the group had trouble selling tickets. Originally selling for $10 a piece, the organizations ended up giving tickets away and asking for donations instead, Crawford said.

“We didn’t have enough promotion,” she said. “We just booked him last week. We were trying to get the money out as fast as we could — next time we’ll try and get the word out sooner.”

Miller’s opening act was Tech’s improv troupe Alternative Fuels, which was excited to help out free of charge, Crawford said. After their act, Miller took the stage.

“I enjoyed the improv because it was a good and very positive atmosphere,” said Latrice Price, a senior education major from Lubbock. “We didn’t buy our tickets, but we did donate and would definitely come to more events in the future.”

Crawford and Phi Alpha Delta have been working to create this comedy show for the last two months she said. The two social fraternities “were on board with anything and everything we needed them to do,” and helped with the promotion of the event and ticket sales.

“Those organizations are all men, but they are awesome,” Crawford said.

The new social fraternity Delta Sigma Phi wanted to get involved with this event because they are interested in getting involved in any community service, said DJ Koessler, Delta Sigma Phi national expansion coordinator.

“I think it’s a really great time, really funny, worth the money and for a really great cause,” said Charlie Mansour, Delta Sigma Phi sergeant at arms and a junior music major from Houston.

All proceeds from the event will go to supporting Haiti alone, Crawford said. Even with the natural disasters in Chile and recognition of the need for help there, the group kept to its original plan to benefit Yéle Haiti. Even many weeks after a natural disaster, the group believes it can help.

“People are going to forget about Haiti because it’s not in fashion,” Crawford said. “When I search Haiti, the first picture I see should not be Brad and Angelina; they’re going to get that back in their taxes, and that’s not philanthropy. People don’t give anymore because it’s not in fashion.”

At the end of the evening, the groups raised $800 and realized they should plan ahead more to get people involved, Crawford said.

“If 10,000 people donated because it was the in thing to do, then that’s still 10,000 people that donated,” Miller said. “The ones that want to stick with it will keep donating for future causes.”

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