Alpha Delta Pi’s Mocktail Blend-Off stands apart from other Greek philanthropy events
By Erin Law Schieffer School of Journalism
Each year the smell of fresh pineapple and rum extract linger down the stairs from the student center ballroom. The sounds of cheering, laughter, music and blenders echo through the walls. From Harry Potter to pink poodle skirts, students walk around wearing a variety of costumes along with loads of bright-colored beads around their necks. This Mardi Gras-like event is none other than Alpha Delta Pi’s annual Mocktail Blend-Off.
The international philanthropy event is now a requisite among the TCU community, but seven years ago it was nearly nonexistent.
“AD Pi was in the transition of updating their annual philanthropy event,” said Tayla Renfro, AD Pi’s Blend-Off chair. Before, AD Pi’s events were targeted more toward fraternities. However, the sorority wanted a new event that would not only raise money for their charity, the Ronald McDonald House, but also promote a message of social concern to college students.
The idea of Mocktail Blend-Off developed from a simple brainstorm. Paula Mabry, president of the AD Pi Fort Worth Alumnae Association and the creative brains behind the event, wanted to create an event that would introduce alcohol awareness to students. Mabry had first-hand experience of the devastating effects of drunken driving.
“My brother had been hurt by a drunk driver, changing the dynamic of my family forever,” Mabry said.
With that in mind, Mabry sought to introduce alcohol awareness to the TCU community in a non-confrontational way. The answer was to create competition.
“If there is anything at TCU that hasn’t changed, it is the competition between Greek organizations,” Mabry said. A little healthy competition was a sure way to get fraternities, sororities, as well as non-Greek organizations involved in the philanthropy event. The next detail was choosing a fresh and fun name for the event.
Mabry enlisted the help of cocktail books to find a name that would catch students’ attention. She came across a section of the book discussing the ways to have a healthy mocktail.
“The word mocktail means a cocktail without alcohol,” Mabry said. The term is “pleasing to the eye, refreshing and has an ‘I can’t wait to have one’ appeal,” she said. Soon enough, AD Pi’s new philanthropy event was named Mocktail Blend-Off.
Over the years, Mocktail Blend-Off has transformed from a simple idea into one of the most popular philanthropy events at TCU, said Audra Kerr, president of AD Pi.
“The event has grown tremendously over the past years,” Kerr said, “and more and more people come each year.” The reason behind the growth of the event is the fact that Mocktail Blend-Off is the only philanthropy event on the TCU campus that invites every student to attend, not just fraternities and sororities.
“Alcohol awareness doesn’t just apply to sororities and fraternities,” Renfro said.
Even though Mocktail Blend-Off is fun and reminds students of Mardi Gras, Mabry said that the event still needs to support the message of the dangers of alcohol.
“All students are in social situations where someone in their group has too much to drink,” Mabry said. “Then they have a decision to make — whether or not to let that friend drive.” Not only do Greek students deal with this issue, she said, but every student has to deal with these situations.
In order to help prevent drunken driving, AD Pi has added more events in addition to Mocktail Blend-Off to create an entire week devoted to alcohol awareness. During the past two years, AD Pi recruited John Peter Smith Hospital as their major sponsor. Dr. Jay Haynes, John Peter Smith’s chief medical officer, suggested AD Pi host a blood drive the day before Mocktail Blend-Off. As a result, last year AD Pi held the largest blood drive at TCU, Mabry said.
“We were able to get over 80 units of blood donated in just four hours,” Mabry said. In fact, Carter Blood Center, who hosts the blood drive with AD Pi, had to turn students away because they started running out of supplies at the end of the event.
At the 7th annual Mocktail Blend-Off this year, AD Pi enlisted the help of the TCU nursing department to help with promotion of the blood drive. Along with the nursing students, “AD Pi members were out in full force encouraging passing students to donate blood,” Mabry said. In addition to the blood drive, AD Pi set up a fake accident in front of the Smith Entrepreneurial Building to show the impact of drunken driving.
The accident made the event “more real as students would walk around the heavily damaged vehicles due to driving drunk,” Mabry said.
Victoria Branson, a senior entrepreneurial management major from Houston, said the fake accident put everything in perspective. “After seeing the accident, it really made me think,” Branson said. “Now I am more cautious when I go out and I make sure someone is the designated driver.”
Even though participating organizations make fake cocktails in order to receive prizes, Mocktail Blend-Off is about the impact alcohol can have on students’ lives.
“We want students to walk away from the event and think before they drink,” Renfro said. It’s also important to remember the event is for a good cause. The money raised during the event is donated to AD Pi’s charity, the Ronald McDonald House in Fort Worth. This year AD Pi broke their previous fundraising records and raised nearly $10,000 for the charity that helps provide housing and meals for families with terminally-ill children, Renfro said.
In the future, Renfro said she wants Mocktail Blend-Off to continue to center around alcohol awareness.
“Most people just remember the fun themes and drinks,” she said, “but students should take away more than that from the event.” However, unless students attend the Mocktail Blend-Off, they will never fully understand the importance of the event. Students are encouraged to come to the event to have fun and give back to the community, Renfro said.
Still, AD Pi has high hopes for the Mocktail Blend-Offs to come and continue to brainstorm more ideas for future events. So to create a successful philanthropy event, start with a fresh idea, add a powerful message, then throw in a bit of fun and games and you’ve blended yourself an event that leaves an impact on the community.
The 8th annual AD Pi Mocktail Blend-Off is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2008. For more information about the event, visit AD Pi’s Web site, www.tcu-adpi.org.
Each year the smell of fresh pineapple and rum extract linger down the stairs from the student center ballroom. The sounds of cheering, laughter, music and blenders echo through the walls. From Harry Potter to pink poodle skirts, students walk around wearing a variety of costumes along with loads of bright-colored beads around their necks. This Mardi Gras-like event is none other than Alpha Delta Pi’s annual Mocktail Blend-Off.