With the fall semester winding down to a close, West Liberty’s largest national sorority on campus, Alpha Xi Delta, hosted their annual Mac N Xi’s fundraiser on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at West Liberty Elementary (WLE) school for students and members of the community.

This annual fundraiser has grown to become Alpha Xi Delta’s largest fundraiser event during the fall semester. Members of the sorority see anywhere from 400 to 600 people during this event. In the past month, members of the sorority advertised for presale tickets for the price of $8 by posting flyers and recruiting students to join the event. Those who joined at the door without the purchase of a pre-sale ticket paid $10.

The event took place from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. where people during this time had the choice between a grab and go dinner or dine in option. According to Zoe Ebbert, a new member recently initiated into Alpha Xi Delta, an assortment of over 10 varieties of macaroni and cheese dishes ranging from bacon, barbeque, pulled pork, buffalo chicken, white cheddar, alfredo, caprese, baked, original and a broccoli cheddar vegan option was offered to those in attendance. The purchase of a ticket also included the option of a salad, dinner roll and drink. Along with macaroni and cheese dishes, Alpha Xi Delta also prepared desserts which were sold separately at a bake sale table for the price of $1.

“We had lemonade, tea, raffle baskets with awesome prizes, a dessert table, activities for the kids and extra t-shirts for sale. It was an awesome event that was very successful overall,” said Ebbert.

Preparation for the Mac N Xi’s event begins months in advance. According to Sydney Burkle, president of Alpha Xi Delta, “The planning of Mac N Xi’s takes every single sisters’ dedication as some girls have to cook the macaroni and cheese while others must serve, sell tickets, clean and more.” In terms of advertising for the event, Burkle explained that Alpha Xi Delta has a committee in place for making sure girls are getting the word out.

Ebbert continued to share her experience of serving for the first time at Mac N Xi’s by saying, “My favorite thing about this philanthropy event is serving. I loved hearing about the different flavors, trying them, sharing them and seeing how excited the children were.”

Kia Villers, a member of Beta Rho Epsilon, attended Mac N Xi’s for the first time and had this to say about the event: “I went to Mac N Xi’s to support another sorority and get a good dinner. My macaroni and cheese was very delicious with white cheddar being my favorite.”

In previous years, Alpha Xi Delta held the event on campus or places close to West Liberty University, but after shifting their philanthropy to WLE, they decided to host the event at the school and spread awareness toward the organization that is being supported through Mac N Xi’s final profit. Burkle elaborated on this by stating that the decision to switch locations was brought on by a discussion the sorority had with Stacy Greer, principal of WLE. “Their principal suggested selling tickets to the parents of the school aged children so they could grab meals to go as they got them from school,” said Burkle.

This single change proved to be beneficial for the members of Alpha Xi Delta and the kids of WLE as they made close to $2,000 in profit which will be put toward the school.

Profits made from Mac N Xi’s are typically donated to Autism Speaks, Alpha Xi Delta’s previous philanthropic organization, but the sorority shifted their focus to a local based cause after fraternity headquarters announced the change to what is now called The Kindly Hearts Campaign. According to Burkle, this is a year-long philanthropic initiative that allows every chapter of Alpha Xi Delta to choose a school or food insecurity-based cause in the local area.

Burkle concluded her description of the night by saying “My favorite thing about Mac N Xi’s is getting to connect and network with the community members that attend.”

For more information regarding the Alpha Xi Delta chapter as a whole, visit their official website. If you are interested in joining Alpha Xi Delta and helping them in the future with this event, stay tuned and visit WLU’s student activities page regarding information about spring recruitment.