(More photos from 'Sparksfest'.)
Sparks Community Service Dance Company, Active Minds and a Wharton Management 100 team partnered with the Psi Upsilon fraternity -- housed in the Castle -- on Thursday for "Sparksfest."
The charity event featured several performing arts groups, and the proceeds went to Sparks, the Salvation Army and Active Minds, a student group that aims to help with mental health.
"We felt that it was good for us to connect with other student organizations," College junior and Psi Upsilon President Anthony Mozer said.
The event raised $755 in entrance fees and $1,858 in the raffle, which occurred at the end of the event.
The Management team needed to raise $1,500 for Sparks, and the rest of the proceeds were divided between Active Minds, which was formerly Open Minds, and the Salvation Army.
"Because we're a fraternity organization doesn't mean that we don't like to give to the local community and participate with other student organizations," Mozer said. He also noted that he was impressed by the attendance, and that Active Minds would greatly benefit from the event.
"We're looking for all kinds of philanthropic opportunities," Wharton sophomore and Psi Upsilon Philanthropy Chairman Daniel Doyon said.
The Management team picked from five projects to work on for the semester. The project that they were assigned was fundraising for Sparks, a dance group that performs for charity and is underfunded by the University.
"We are really pleased we made a really good show," Wharton junior and Sparks member Nicole Caprio said.
"It's great we are uniting the performing arts groups, community service organizations, as well as the Greek community," College sophomore and Sparks member Renee Pristas said.
"We had a greater turnout than we expected," Wharton freshman and Management 100 team member Paul Trejo said. "The event was really organized well."
The other performing arts groups were more than happy to lend their services for charity.
"We like to do a lot of shows to get our names out there," said Wharton sophomore Anthony Sandrik, a member of the comedy troupe Simply Chaos.
"I think we did a pretty good job," said Wharton senior and Simply Chaos member Rishi Patel. "I thank the Castle for holding this event."
The performances did not fail to please audience members.
"It was the first time I saw a lot of these groups perform," Wharton junior Pranab Lohani said. "I liked the groups a lot."
"A bunch of kids on my floor are in Management 100," said College freshman Ben Winter, who noted that this was the first time he had been inside the Castle. "There were good groups and good food."
Many local eateries such as Famous Famiglia, Ed's, Cosi and Starbucks donated food for the event.
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