John Ellis, a member of Sigma Chi, the fraternity in charge of Derby Days, said fraternities and sororities raise money all year long and that Derby Days is a week that focuses on sororities raising money for charity.
There were no major changes made since last year's Derby Days, which raised $53,000, Ellis said.
Although it did not raise as much money as last year, Ellis said the event was as successful as past years because of increased participation by sororities. He also said the events were more organized, which in turn helped to raise money.
The sororities participate in events to earn points toward Derby Days' contests. This year, Alpha Delta Pi came in first place and Alpha Chi Omega finished second. Alpha Chi Omega came in first the last two years in a row.
Kim Ufford, a junior business major and member of Alpha Chi Omega, said the weeklong event drew much support. "Our turnout was good at all of the events," she said. "We had a huge cheering section."
Throughout the week, there were open fund-raising days where different sororities hosted their own unique events.
Katie McNeill, a junior journalism major, said Alpha Chi Omega sold raffle tickets for gift certificates to various restaurants in Chapel Hill. It also canceled two house dinners and donated the money that would normally go toward the dinners to Sigma Chi.
Two of the sororities raised more than $2,000 with their events. Delta Delta Delta raised $2,160 with a cookout, and Zeta Tau Alpha raised $2,200 with a date auction.
Derby Days kicked off Oct. 5 at the Sigma Chi house with several live bands. The service fraternity charged $10 for admission in exchange for T-shirts.
