It’s usually the story of the tortoise and the hare, but for one University of Idaho fraternity, it’s a story about a tortoise and more tortoises.
Phi Delta Theta will host its 56th annual Turtle Derby from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The event will benefit the ALS Association, a nonprofit organization that funds research into amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The disease is more commonly known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the baseball player and Phi Delta Theta alumnus who brought the disease to the public’s attention.
“It’s one of the biggest and oldest philanthropies and traditions on campus, especially in the Greek system,” said Rick Castleton, Phi Delta Theta public relations chair. “In the past, we’ve given the proceeds directly to ALS, but this year we’re giving them to the Evergreen Chapter of ALS.”
The Evergreen Chapter is based in Kent, Wash., which Castleton said adds a local element to this year’s event.
Each sorority on campus will compete with its respective turtle in groups of three or four, called heaps. The fastest turtles from each heap are then pitted against each other, narrowing it down to the fastest turtle on campus. At the end of the race, the sorority with the fastest turtle receives a trophy, which they are allowed to keep until the next Turtle Derby.
There are also several smaller events that Phi Delta Thetaholds during the week leading up to the Turtle Derby to get sorority sisters pumped for the big day. Banners are hung outside sorority houses, T-shirts are signed and Phi Delta members serenade the sisters with information about the event. To help with the philanthropy, a coin drive is held alongside these spirit-building activities, and points are awarded for participation and the amount and types of coins donated.
“So far (the events) have been going great,” said Ryan Chapman, Phi Delta’s house manager. “There’s been a lot of participation and there’s a lot of money for the coin drive.”
Phi Delta partnered with several sponsors, Chapman said, to maximize this year’s proceeds. This year, Monster Energy Drink, Grub Truck, The Perch and Dutch Bros. Coffee will donate part of their sales to the ALS Association.
Last year, the Turtle Derby brought in more than $3,000 in proceeds, but this year’s goal is a bit higher. Castleton said Phi Delta hopes to exceed $5,000, a goal that might be made easier as the event coincides with Moms’ Weekend.
“We do it on Moms’ Weekend every year, and it just so happened to fall on Greek Week this year,” Castleton said. “Moms’ Weekend is the perfect time to do this. It just gets a little bit more recognition to it and helps us raise a little bit more money.”
Daniel Durand can be reached at [email protected]