FIJI hosts annual Islander fundraising event

This Saturday, students, alumni, faculty and community members congregated on the President’s Lawn for the annual FIJI Islander.

Hosted by the brothers of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), the event has been a part of the Hopkins Homecoming weekend for over 25 years. Attendees paid $5 to enter, and the proceeds went to the United Service Organization (USO), which is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the American armed forces and their families. This year, over 800 people came to the event, which raised $1,634 for the USO.

“As a senior who has now been to four Islanders, this was the most packed I have seen it,” FIJI Islander Co-Chair Justin Dana wrote in an email to The News-Letter.

The event featured live entertainment, a cookout, a beer garden and the FIJI Islander Princess Competition.

In the contest for FIJI Islander Princess, several sororities and campus groups nominate representatives to fundraise for a designated charity. This year, the proceeds from the Princess Competition went to the Katie Oppo Research Fund. The girl who raises the most money is carried around the President’s Garden in a bamboo chariot.

This year’s participants included Sarah Azody from Kappa Kappa Gamma, Sophia Fleming-Benite from WJHU Radio, Pavitra Gudur from Pi Beta Phi, Cara Schulte from Phi Mu, Liz Tommasi from Alpha Phi and Astrid Zessler from Kappa Alpha Theta. Together, the girls tripled last year’s efforts by raising over $3,000 for the Katie Oppo Research Fund.

Katie Oppo was a member of Phi Mu at Hopkins. She was diagnosed in August of 2010 with Small Cell Carcinoma of the Ovary, Hypercalcemic Type (SCCOHT) and passed away in April of 2011. The Katie Oppo Research Fund is dedicated to funding research and raising awareness for ovarian cancer. It is an organization that Hopkins students frequently choose to support in their fundraising efforts.

“Katie Oppo was a good friend of a lot of the alumni in our fraternity,” Islander Co-Chair Kevin Barry said. “She was actually dating one of the brothers at the time, so when that happened it was a big shock. We decided to start the Islander Princess Competition for her and keep that going year-to-year.”

“After learning about the cause, I was really interested because I had done cancer research in high school and continued that a little in college,” Islander Princess winner Pavitra Gudur said. 

Gudur also associated herself with the cause because several of her friends were close with Oppo.

When fundraising for Islander, Gudur contacted friends, family, past teachers and other Pi Phi chapters. After collecting over $1,200, including $800 from her own savings, Gudur broke the record for the largest sum raised by a single contestant.

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to represent Pi Phi and help out with an amazing cause, especially one that was so close to home,” Gudur said.

Schulte, the Princess contestant representing Phi Mu, was also enthusiastic about being a part of the Islander tradition.

“I wanted to do it because Katie was a close friend of many girls in Phi Mu, and the organization means a lot to our sorority,” Schulte said.

Michael Kimmelman of the Class of 2013, who organized the event last year, was impressed with this year’s turnout.

“I was super excited to be able to attend FIJI Islander this year,” Kimmelman wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “It was a ton of fun catching up with old friends and enjoying a beautiful day on campus. Plus, FIJI raised a huge amount of money for two fantastic charities.”

Not all of those who attended FIJI Islander were Hopkins students. The FIJI brothers worked to spread the word to members of the Loyola, Towson and University of Maryland communities. Many students also brought family members to the event. Freshman Olivia Lindenberg brought her parents along to relax on the lawn with her friends after the lacrosse game.

“I’m glad that I was able to show my parents just how strong the Hopkins community is and that we were all able to enjoy the event on such a beautiful day after such a great game,” Lindenberg said.

FIJI President Evan Tassis was also pleased with the event’s success.

“We surpassed all previous years in raising money, and we believe everyone had a great time,” Tassis wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We also had the University of Maryland chapter of FIJI attend our event to help raise money for one of their brothers who has cancer and is being treated at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. So we were even able to raise some money for his cause as well.”

Barry attributed this year’s success to the good weather, FIJI’s increased marketing efforts and WJHU Radio’s inclusion of local bands.

“For us, it was extremely nice because we raised so much money for both charities,” Barry said. “We also have The PUSH coming up this weekend, which will be another great opportunity for us to raise money for USO.”

Dana agreed that the event went well.

“Overall, we think it was a very successful Islander,” Dana wrote. “We had great weather and, aside from a few minor hiccups, have nothing bad to report. We received positive feedback on the three bands who played, as well as [on] the food served.”

Tassis expressed his aspirations for future events.

“We have new ideas to help improve Islander, so hopefully we can continue to increase the amount of money we raise for the Katie Oppo Fund and the USO,” Tassis wrote. “We all are happy with what we were able to accomplish and would like to thank everyone who attended and supported us.”