Saturday, 75 watermelons turned into thousands of pounds of food for hungry Memphians.
At Lambda Chi Alpha's 3rd annual "Watermelon Fest," the fraternity's biggest philanthropic event, 60 people were on hand to enjoy the festivities.
The nonprofit event raised money for the North American Food Drive and, more specifically, the Memphis Food Bank.
The fraternity hosted seven sororities as they competed in nine events, all involving watermelons, with intentions of getting as messy as possible, all in the name of the MFB.
The entry fees from each sorority ($50) and donations from local businesses all went to the MFB and were converted into an equivalent amount of food.
"It's definitely a worthwhile event because it's good to be able to do something for the community and give the fraternity a good reason to be on campus," said Michael Stratton, chairman of the "Watermelon Fest."
That kind of dedication caused the fraternity to set a goal of 15,000 lbs. for the fest, combined with their canned food drive in November.
That goal is 3,000 more than what the Lambda Chi national headquarters asked of them.
The event fell short of their goal and only brought in the monetary equivalent of 3,500 lbs.
However, Lambda Chi Alpha remains optimistic.
"We've got a ways to go," Stratton said. "I definitely don't think we should stay where we are, it would be in our best interest to make the event even bigger and raise more money for canned goods. We got the message out about what we are trying to do."
The events, held on The University Center Alumni Mall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., ranged from a tug-of-war to melon bowling.
"As a coach (of a sorority), we were required to wear a flamboyant costume, but I didn't care about wearing it because everyone had fun and it benefited a meaningful cause," said Michael Harris, a junior finance and marketing major and member of the Lambda Chi fraternity.
Since its conception in 2002, the fraternity's "Watermelon Fest," along with neighborhood can drives, have helped raise more than 25,000 pounds of food for the MFB and hungry Memphis families.
Lambda Chi would also like to continue the fundraising past "Watermelon Fest" and the canning drive.
As the fledgling fraternity gets more established they may continue the canning drive year round.
"We might possibly move "Watermelon Fest" to the spring," Stratton said. "We'd like it to be one of the biggest philanthropic events on campus."
