Happy Go Red Week! Here at Florida State University, the Gamma Phi chapter of Alpha Phi is hosting our annual Go Red Week. Many are unaware that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in America. We like to dedicate time and effort to bring awareness to the prevention of this disease. With that we also encourage others to Go Red for women’s heart health! Each day of this week leads us closer to our big event, Red Dress Gala. Take a look into this week and join us as we Go Red!

Tuesday, September 27.

On Tuesday, September 27 our newest members are trained in CPR. Any older member is more than welcome to join if they feel they would like to renew their training. We are so proud to have our entire chapter CPR certified. We hold our philanthropy so close to our hearts that we feel as if we can do more than just raise money and awareness, we can actually DO something that has the potential of saving someone’s life.

Wednesday, September 28.

Along with the training that we have always done, this year we have added something new, which will allow students on campus to be able to support our philanthropy first hand! Come stop by the Union on Wednesday to check out our Blood Drive. We’ll be stationed there from 1 to 5 p.m. for anyone to stop by and donate blood. This is such a great way to support our philanthropy and we all hope you will come check it out!

Friday, September 30.

This entire week is filled with events to benefit and raise awareness to Women’s Heart Health. It all leads up to our annual Red Dress Gala. Red Dress Gala is Alpha Phi’s silent and live auction philanthropy. We invite our families, friends, alumni, and people within the Tallahassee community. It’s always held during parents weekend so our parents are usually able to join. The Gala includes a nice dinner and special speakers, including guests from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Once dinner is over we go into our live auctioning, which includes things such as football games, beach condos, and even week long vacations. It’s so much fun to watch the bidding happen, but its even more exciting to hear the final number that was raised after the event. Last year we raised $34,202 for Women’s Heart Health!

Beyond Go Red Week.

We have such a close relationship with TMH. In February 2013, the Alpha Phi Foundation awarded a $50,000 grant to the Tallahassee Memorial Health Care Foundation. This grant funded TMH’s “Empowering Women to Save Lives through CPR Training” which included a Heart to Heart CPR & Wellness Fair. Through this program, 600 local women were trained in hands only CPR. The grant was also able to create a wing specifically for heart health. Many of our sisters are able to take visits to tour the wing. It is one thing to raise the money, but to be able to see first hand where it is going is something else entirely.

Alpha Phi at Florida State University is looking forward to our annual Go Red Week and exceeding our previous year’s amount raised for Women's Heart Health! If you would like to make a donation to benefit our philanthropy please feel free by clicking here!