Delta Zeta Phi Annual Seesaw Marathon
By Lexie Lee Why was there a seesaw in the quad? The Tennessee Wesleyan University Fraternity, Delta Zeta Phi, finished their fundraising Seesaw Marathon where they rode the seesaw, taking turns, for 100 hours straight from September 22-26! The event was organized to raise money from local businesses and donations from people within the community to benefit the on-campus food pantry, Love Thy Neighbor Project. As Love Thy Neighbor is Delta Zeta Phi’s charity partner, the fraternity worked this project to raise money so that Love Thy Neighbor can continue helping those in the Athens community who are in need. The group decided that for every $500 raised, they would add another 24 hours to the time spent on the seesaw. “Balancing sleep and classes was difficult, but because this was the second year [of the annual Seesaw Marathon], we had a much better process for who was riding the seesaw and when,” said Roni Bailey, a member of the Delta Zeta Phi fraternity. Mostly fraternity members, along with the occasional professors and other students, rode the seesaw, enabling the club to raise $3,000. “Those young men have been such a blessing for our food pantry! We appreciate them so much. The money they raise, most likely, will go to our back sack program. This program provides weekend meals to low-income students at now 6 schools in McMinn County. We make approximately 220-250 bags and deliver them to all of these schools. Our program now runs every other week and is our largest expense at the pantry. It is a wonderful program and we are currently accepting donations to help fund it,” explains Vicki Weber from Love Thy Neighbor Project.
