Thursday night, Alpha Chi Omega held its first “Accessorize with Alpha Chi” event in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom supported by local vendors and Neiman Marcus. All proceeds will go toward the Genesis Women’s Shelter. Free makeovers with 15 artists from Neiman’s, as well as support from local vendors Francesca’s, Mine, A Boutique and The Impeccable Pig were offered. Tickets were $5, sold all week and at the door.
President of Alpha Chi Omega senior Blair Quick was highly appreciative of the aid Alpha Chi received in order to put the event together. Working with Neiman’s was especially important for the sisters because it is such an established brand that it provided an added draw for the new event. The retail chain is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of its inception this year.
Aware of the impact SMU has in the Dallas community, Alpha Chi philanthropy chair Blair Brown was eager to get local retailers involved in the event.
“It’s a great way to put them in front of people who wouldn’t normally see their stuff. They donated all of this, so they’re supporting Genesis Women’s Shelter too,” Brown said of the makeover stations, door prizes and kiosks set up around the ballroom.
Genesis Women’s Shelter is a Dallas-based organization dedicated to the protection of women and their children against domestic violence through crisis intervention, and also raising awareness in the community of its presence and effects.
“We are women and we do support women,” Quick said. “As a chapter we try to find a way to raise awareness. It’s especially important to all of us.”
Alpha Chi, paired with their Alumni association also put on Alpha Chi Couture, which raised over $12,000 in support of the shelter last year.
The room was welcoming to all who attended, with Trish McEvoy scented candles from Neiman’s and makeup from big names Clinique, Nars and Bobbi Brown. The mainly female crowd enjoyed light refreshments and conversation as music played in the background. Lines formed behind the artists for makeovers. The turnout was strong for such a new event, with an estimated 100-plus attendees.
“It has been a lot of fun,” junior Alpha Chi Lindsay Venable said. “It’s good that all these people came out to support us. It was a fun way to get out philanthropy out there and get people to support it.”
The event was the result of the work of junior Blair Brown and the philanthropy committee at Alpha Chi.
“She worked really hard on it,” sophomore Stephanie Markman said.
Markman also praised the event for bringing in a strong mix of sorority girls and also non-Greeks, showing strong community outreach on the part of her sisters.
