This year will be Kappa Kappa Gamma's 5th annual Kappa Krawfish, a Panhellenic-wide crawfish boil held every spring to raise money for their national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental, which donates books to underprivileged schoolchildren and facilitates Reading is Key events in which volunteers go read to and interact with the school children (Delta Iota KKG also has a local philanthropy, St. Jude Dream Day).
The event has always been a fun event held at their sorority house, where family and friends come to enjoy crawfish, refreshments, and live music. However, this year's Philanthropy Chair, Lauren Carriere, has decided to take this event to the next level.
Last summer, the LSU community lost a very special lady. Megan Rogers, a KKG sister, passed away after a terrible car accident in her hometown. Kappa's current president, Juliann Baggett, describes Megan as a "young, bright sister who always had a contagious smile on her face that could brighten even the saddest of days. She was the person that everyone wanted to be around because she carried a wealth of positive energy with her everywhere she went."
Everyone adored Megan -- which was why the Delta Iota chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma was so devastated when they, like everyone else, received the news. Former Kappa Kappa Gamma president, Connor Murphy, recalls how the chapter reacted to this terrible and tragic incident: “Megan passed away in the very beginning of the summer, so it was an extremely tough time for the chapter because not only had we lost a member we all loved, but we couldn't be together to help each other through this tragic event. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around all 328 chapter members and keep them close by during that mournful time."
However, when the chapter finally could all come together during recruitment, they held a memorial service in honor of Megan. “We invited all of Megan's family and friends to come to the memorial service," Murphy said. "We had some of her closest friends read passages or poems that reminded them of Megan, and we also had a slide show of pictures with Megan playing after the service."
During recruitment, Kappas also pinned blue ribbons on their ice water and preference party dresses in order to honor and symbolize Megan always being with them. Later on in the fall of 2014, the girls in Megan's pledge class also had an opportunity to nominate a new member of the incoming pledge class who demonstrated all of the great qualities that Megan had. Freshman Madison Lazas was the first recipient of the award that was announced at their annual new member mother-daughter luncheon, and the Delta Iota Kappas hope to continue this tradition to once again help Megan's spirit live on. Kappa Krawfish is just one more way that the members of Kappa Kappa Gamma hope to help Megan's name live on.
“We have quite a few additions to Kappa Krawfish this year that we are really excited about!" philanthropy chair Lauren Carriere said excitedly.
Indeed, this year's Kappa Krawfish will have many more aspects of philanthropy, a value very near and dear to Kappa's heart. This is the first time that there will be t-shirts sold at the event (design below) for anyone who is interested! The design includes Megan's name and is available in two color options; they will be $20 and all proceeds from the t-shirts will be donated to Reading is Fundamental in Megan's name. Carriere and the other Chapter Council advisors have also added a raffle. Tickets are $10 and the 1st place prize is a week long vacation in a beachfront condo in Gulf Shores. Proceeds from the raffle will be donated to a national Kappa scholarship Fund in Megan Rogers' name.
Kappa will also be presenting books that they have collected through our book drive to representatives of the elementary school that we are partnering with for our "Reading is Key" event at Kappa Krawfish. "Megan always cared about others, so we knew that this event was a perfect way to help the Panhellenic community remember her!" Baggett said.
Tickets to this exciting and tasty event are $15 if purchased from a Kappa or $20 at the door. The t-shirts are super cool and will be sold for $20 at the event. The members of Kappa Kappa Gamma encourage everyone in the PanHellenic community and especially friends of Megan's to attend the event, buy t-shirts and enjoy all of the entertainment for a great cause! The event is March 20th from 3-6pm at the Kappa Kappa Gamma house.
