Twenty-one fraternities, 15 sororities and two dance teams will gather Wednesday for Miami's biggest dance party of the year. Delta Zeta's annual dance competition, Puttin' on the Hits (POTH), which supports its philanthropy St. Rita's School for the Deaf, will take place 7 p.m. March 12 in Millett Hall.
In the spring of each year, sororities and fraternities enlist new members to learn a dance to be performed and judged at POTH. Each new member has a specific task -whether it be holding up props in the background or dancing on center stage, everyone is involved.
"It's really fun to get to know our pledge class while preparing for a competitive event that benefits a good cause," first-year Alpha Delta Pi sorority member Sara Lance said. "It is also a way for us to bond with the people that we're working with."
Each organization has the freedom to create their own theme and coordinate their outfits and dances, said POTH chair Lucy Lavine. This is a popular way to organize the performance because creativity is a large factor in the judging process. Every team is judged based on its performance to see who will win the trophy.
Four trophies are awarded at the end of the event after every organization has performed. Two of the trophies are awarded to the fraternity and sorority with the best dances, and the other two trophies are awarded to the organizations that raise the most donations, Lavine said.
As a national philanthropy, Delta Zeta supports the speech and hearing impaired. Locally, the alpha chapter of Delta Zeta at Miami supports St. Rita's. Every year, a group of children from St. Rita's attend POTH and participate by performing their own dance.
"Being able to see the children perform is so rewarding," Lavine said. "It truly is the best part of the event because we get to see where all of our hard work is going."
The whole purpose of the event is to raise money for St. Rita's School for the Deaf.
"Each year, it is the job of the philanthropy chair of POTH to determine ways to make money, aside from having a participation fee and selling tickets," Lavine said.
This year, Delta Zeta raised money by selling t-shirts, creating a donation link online, holding two fundraisers and by creating a raffle to be had at the event. Every year, the participating organizations receive donation boxes to try and raise the most money for St. Rita's School for the Deaf.
Last year, the entire event helped raise more than $15,000, Lavine said. This year, with the help of Miami University and other sources, Delta Zeta has hopes of raising that much, or more to benefit St. Rita's School for the Deaf.
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