Delta Sig helps local charity

Delta Sigma Pi, Wharton's coed business and service fraternity, raised $2,000 for Philadelphia's Ronald McDonald House at its tenth annual charity auction Saturday. One hundred students, alumni and area residents gathered in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags to bid on merchandise, service and gift certificates from local establishments. Delta Sig President Sue Bober, a Wharton junior, labeled this year's auction "one of the most successful" of the fraternity's ventures. And Isreal Martinez, the fraternity's vice president for community service, added that the event netted comparable revenue to last year -- even without support from two hotels and Le Bec Fin. Because all proceeds netted from the auction go directly to charity, last year the Delta Sigs took a $400 loss running the event. But Citibank cosponsored this year's event, preventing such a deficit from reoccurring. According to many brothers, plans for this year's auction began as soon as last year's ended. "We just tried to market [the auction] better this semester," Martinez said. Reevaluating their plan of attack, brothers shifted more of their energies to certain neighborhoods. "There were only certain areas that gave the most," Bober said. Brothers solicited donations from companies by sending them packets with information about Delta Sig, the Ronald McDonald House and the advertising opportunities attached to the auction. They also received donations from merchants in the Houston Hall Mall, on South Street and on the 1200 to 1800 blocks of Walnut and Chestnut streets. Only two items went unsold, and Martinez is advertising them on the upenn.forsale newsgroup. Martinez stressed that collaborative efforts made this year's event a success. "Everyone took a piece of the auction and took care of it," he explained. Ronald McDonald House Administrative Assistant Barbara Nelson said the fraternity's donation will be used to offset the house's general operating expenses. Families of CHOP patients may stay in the house for $10 a night, but it costs the Ronald McDonald Foundation an additional $44 per night to run such a program. And because CHOP is one of the nation's premiere children's hospitals, the Ronald McDonald House -- located at 38th and Chestnut streets -- is usually busy. "We know CHOP is an excellent hospital, so [the Ronald McDonald House] probably get[s] a lot of traffic," Martinez said, adding "it's much better for the child to have his whole family with him." Bober added that brothers enjoyed helping the nation's first Ronald McDonald House. And Nelson noted that Penn organizations donate "maybe? $10,000 a year, [which is] a pretty good amount for college students," to the Ronald McDonald House.