Bethany Sorority Receives Donation for Breast Cancer Outreach Efforts

BETHANY, W.Va. – Zeta Tau Alpha, one of Bethany’s three sororities on campus, received a check for $1,500 for breast cancer research from Walmart in Triadelphia, W.Va. This generous donation will aid in Theta’s nationwide philanthropy. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and has been an integral part of Zeta’s philanthropy since 1992. For the past two years, they have partnered with Neighborhood Ford Store to help ‘Quilt for the Cure,’ a program that honors those battling breast cancer. The Pittsburgh-based company gifted the chapter with a quilt last year and additional patches this year to sign. These quilts are then donated to local hospitals to help inspire cancer patients to keep fighting. 

Chapter President, Emma Gress, feels a true connection to this cause, not only as an advocate for this philanthropy, but also as one participating in the Quilt for the Cure activities. 

“I love doing this. I think it’s so meaningful that people have something to look at; that maybe they’re having a bad day and this could make them smile,” Gress explains.  

Ashley Subasic, the chapter’s general advisor, is proud of her girls for working so diligently on their philanthropy and receiving this donation. 

“Breast cancer is something that we’re fighting for a cure to find and until we can do that, we need to continue our efforts of raising money and raising awareness in order for that to be obtainable. So, partnerships like this allow us to get out in the community, off-campus,” Subasic says. 

Neighborhood Ford Store Board of Directors member Jim Robinson will also be presenting a $5,000 donation to the West Virginia Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program. This program provides free mammograms to women who reside in Brooke, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Ohio, Pleasants, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tyler, Upshur, Wetzel and Wood counties who do not have insurance or are under-insured. 

Next year, ZTA is planning to expand and partner with Neighborhood Ford Store to have the quilt squares presented at Bethany College, rather than the past off-campus locations. A table will also be set up for all students to create a quilt square, not just the ZTA sisters.