By 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, a line of students, professors and Carlisle community members had filed into the HUB Social Hall to celebrate Cuisine for CASA, the new signature philanthropy event of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
The event centered on a buffet-style meal featuring food donated and purchased from Carlisle eateries. Dishes included salads from the Pizza Grille, sushi from Mt. Fuji, curry from Issei Noodle, pasta dishes from Miseno’s Pizzeria, sesame chicken from Chen’s Asian Restaurant and chicken wings from North Hanover Grille. Gaia Fresh Foods Café donated specialty beverages and other sororities donated desserts. In addition, subs were purchased from George’s Pizzeria.
After serving their food, attendees enjoyed performances by the Octals and the Crescendevils a capella groups. Attendees could also cast votes in a competition for the best dessert dish and enter a silent auction to win items from local businesses.
Tickets to the event were sold for $7 during the week prior to the event and for $10 at the door. All proceeds from ticket sales benefitted Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA) and the Theta Foundation. CASA is a national network of more than 900 programs for recruiting, training and assigning volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in courts and other settings. CASA is the official philanthropic beneficiary of the national Kappa Alpha Theta network; the Dickinson chapter, like other chapters across the nation, hosts philanthropic events to raise money for the organization. The Theta Foundation provides monetary assistance to Theta sorority members across the country.
Cuisine for CASA marks the first departure from Theta’s previous trademark philanthropy event, Katwalk for CASA. According to Jessica May ’15, chief marketing officer of Theta, the group developed Cuisine for CASA with the hope that it would appeal to all genders. May expressed pleasure with the success of the new event, noting that ticket sales alone (excluding profits from the silent auction) had already exceeded what the group had raised in previous years. She also emphasized the critical involvement of local businesses in making the event possible and hopes that it will grow in coming years.
“Local businesses have been very enthusiastic and very happy to be involved,” said May. “I expect a greater turnout from businesses in the future, since many businesses didn’t know exactly what this was but expressed interest in donating next year…[overall] I’m very happy; we’ve spent months planning this and I’m very happy with how it’s turned out. “
Attendees were also impressed with Cuisine for CASA.
“I think Theta did a really good job with the event,” said Kayla Reisman ’15. “I really liked the food and the a capella performance[s], and I enjoyed learning about CASA as an organization.”
According to Larissa Albright ’15, Director of Service and Philanthropy, the event raised approximately $2,200, which will be divided evenly between the two charities.
“We are very pleased with the outcome in both of the funds we raised and the amount of people who attended the event, especially because it was the first time we have held Cuisine for CASA,” said Albright. “There is only room to grow!”
To learn more about CASA or the Theta Foundation, visit casaforchildren.org or kappaalphathetafoundation.org.
