From the outside, Greek Week can appear a surface level week where each sorority and fraternity fights to be the best in fun, albeit superficial, events such as a lip sync battle, bachelor auction and tug of war. While Greek Week is a competition, the reasons behind the events go far beyond surface level.
Cate Whitlatch ’24 is the founder of the Grateful Hearts Project, a charity that fills boxes with decorations for kids that are enduring hospital stays. Wofford IFC and Panhellinic raised money for the Grateful Hearts project as the designated charity of choice that was supported during Greek Week from April 24-28.
When Whitlatch was nine years old, her cousin Claire was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Prior to this experience, she had never been exposed to what life was like for children with cancer.
Whitlatch knew she wanted to make a difference, but she wasn’t sure where to start. When Cate was 12, her cousin Claire passed away. After this, Whitlatch knew she wanted to do something to help kids like Claire.
That same year, her parents got divorced. She was exposed to moving back and forth from her parents’ houses. She was constantly packing bags and figuring out what comfort items she wanted to take with her.
Through her experience dealing with the divorce of her parents and having to constantly relocate, Whitlatch was reminded of the kids with cancer and how they had to move around, to and from hospital rooms. On a small scale, she understood what these kids were going through.
“I realized how hard it must be to go to a new hospital room that is completely blank,” Whitlatch said.
In 2018, she started the Grateful Hearts Project, which gives boxes of decorations to kids enduring hospital stays. Grateful Hearts boxes give kids admitted to hospitals something to look forward to and grants them familiarity.
Boxes typically include a mix of decorations: string lights, wall and window stickers, garland, banners, balloons and a pillow, pillowcase or some other trinket to bring comfort. Each box costs $20 to $40 to make. Any child admitted into the hospital is eligible to receive a Grateful Hearts box.
Emily Moore, current Panhellenic Executive Council VP of Programming, was in charge of running Greek Week this year. Moore describes the thought process that she and the other executives had when deciding on a Greek Week charity.
“Panhellenic Exec wanted to pick a service project that was Wofford student-ran and run by someone passionate not only about their service project, but also about Greek Life,” Moore said.
Last year, the selected charity was the She’s Here campaign that was started by two Wofford students, Ella Patrick ’20 and Olivia Schraibman ’20, in their efforts to support girls that were continuing their education in sub-Saharan Africa.
Moore stated that students interested in suggesting a charity to be benefited during the 2023 Greek Week should reach out to the panhellenic vice president of programming or the panhellenic vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion in the fall.
Moore wants students to know that Greek Week brings students together and emphasizes the community between Greek organizations on campus. Uniting these organizations under a singular philanthropic goal can help maximize impact.
“Greek Week is not only a week with friendly competition between organizations, but is a week to show just how philanthropic and supportive of our community we can be,” Moore said. “It is about coming together as one community and supporting a cause that is much bigger than ourselves. I am so grateful for the wonderful Greek community we have here at Wofford, and it is amazing to see just how dedicated they are to supporting this cause.”
The total amount that the Greek community raised was announced at the Greek awards ceremony on Thursday, April 28. A total of $27,051.01 was given to Whitlatch for the Grateful Hearts project. This is the most money that Greek Week has ever raised.
With the money raised from this year’s Greek Week, Whitlatch sees Grateful Hearts becoming a more sustainable organization. She believes that the contribution by Wofford’s Greek community to Grateful Hearts will allow for boxes to be produced at a regular rate.
More than just monetarily, Wofford students were able to help with this non-profit through packaging boxes themselves on Thursday, April 28. Students, Greek-affiliated and non-Greek-affiliated alike, packaged around 200 boxes and ran out of materials because of the unexpected outcome of students wanting to pack.
If you want to continue following the Grateful Hearts Project, follow their instagram @gratefulheartsproject.
