Decked out in goggles and bathing caps, members of UCLA club sports teams jump into the lap lanes of the pool.
“OK, we’re going to start the club team races right now!” Kalin Werner, a director of the UCLA Anchor Splash event, says into a megaphone to a burst of cheers.
As swimmers wait for the start signal, a crowd gathers around the edge of the family pool at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center to witness the first event of the biggest Greek fundraiser of the year, according to Werner.
A medley of swimming events, including relays, races and synchronized swimming routines, highlighted the Delta Gamma Anchor Splash event Sunday afternoon, hosting more than 500 mostly Greek students and raising almost $11,000 to benefit the visually impaired.
“It’s the most concentrated effort we have to get money back to our foundation,” said Molly Rhodes, a fourth-year English student and past vice president of the Delta Gamma Foundation. “This is where we get all our money ““ it’s a big deal.”
Both the turnout and the fundraising total mark the highest numbers in the 38-year history of the event at UCLA. Past Anchor Splash events only included fraternities, but a focused outreach effort by Delta Gamma brought sororities and club sports teams in for the first time, bringing the number of participants in swimming events to about 200.
Half of the proceeds go directly to the Los Angeles Blind Children’s Center, founded by the regional chapter of Delta Gamma. The other half supports “Service for Sight,” the Delta Gamma national charity.
Members of the spring pledge class of Sigma Chi arrived early to practice their synchronized swimming routine. First-year student Dodge McIntosh said the group was volunteered “but not totally unwillingly.”
“We’ve got some tricks up our sleeves, a few crowd pleasers.” McIntosh said.
The swimming events at Anchor Splash coincide with other contests on the side, including the “Anchorman” competition, in which representatives of each fraternity house compete to win votes from Delta Gamma members. Turner Blatchley of Phi Delta Theta was announced the winner at the end of Anchor Splash.
As the Anchorman representative for Theta Xi, second-year undeclared student Matt Isbell went with other representatives to three weeks of Monday night dinners with members of Delta Gamma.
His tasks at the dinners, assigned by Delta Gamma, included delivering a pick-up line (“My friends bet me I wouldn’t go talk to the most beautiful girl in the room. Can I buy you a drink with their money?”) and performing a talent (reading a haiku and doing a backflip).
The club sports, all represented by the women’s teams, included water polo, soccer, ultimate Frisbee and lacrosse. The Anchor Splash event helps fulfill the philanthropic participation requirement for UCLA club teams.
“It’s innovative among Greek philanthropies because it is the only one that gets sports teams involved,” Rhodes said.
Members of Delta Gamma could be easily spotted in red “Anchor Splash” tank tops with a lifeguard insignia on the front. Event tank top sales, promoted through Facebook, were one of the biggest sources of funds to come out of the event.
A week of Penny Wars on Bruin Walk, another major source of fundraising, also got competitive, said Delta Gamma Foundation vice president Chelsea Martell. Pi Kappa Alpha ended up with the most points at the end of Anchor Splash, winning the Penny Wars overall.
Delta Gamma was the first fraternity in the United States to establish its own philanthropic foundation, according to Werner. Founded in 1951 in Ohio, the “Service for Sight” charity aids visually impaired men, women and children across the country.
Locally, the charity fully funds the Los Angeles Blind Children’s Center, founded in 1938 by the regional chapter of Delta Gamma. More than 100 blind, visually impaired and sighted children, often siblings, receive free education and training through the center.
The center allows Delta Gamma members a chance to see the direct impact of their fundraising efforts. Twice a month, 15 members join the children, aged preschool to first grade, on the playground at recess to play games.
Martell said the visits are highly anticipated; some kids dress up in UCLA garb for the occasion.
“It’s the biggest contribution we can make with our time,” Rhodes said.
She said she has built special connections with children at the center, including a favorite: a boy named Micah with Spiderman shoes.
The increase in awareness of the Anchor Splash fundraiser coincides with the expansion of the Blind Children’s Center, which recently added first grade and is in the process of adding second grade.
Last year’s funds went toward building a preschool and kindergarten class and purchasing supplies.