Lambda Chapter at the University of Minnesota invited sororities and other women to join them for their Date Auction to raise money for FFA and 4H youth November 5, 2024. The chapter raised $4,150 for the two organizations.
Brother Ben Styer, Noble Ruler of Lambda Chapter, said the Date Auction is a philanthropy that they have done since before he joined AGR in 2022. Women from several sororities on campus were invited along with some from the Minneapolis campus.
“It’s a great way to get people over here from Minneapolis to Saint Paul and have a good time doing it,” Brother Styer said.
All brothers participate in at least one date experience, which can be anything they want. Some events are simple such as dinner and a movie. Others are complex such as a group of seven brothers and seven women will go on a wine tour in the spring.
Even the Lambda Chapter Housemother, Mrs. G, participates with her own “date” for a group of girls. Usually, she hosts tea with Mrs. G at a country club that her and her husband are a part of. This year, Mrs. G is doing a surprise trip for 7 girls.
Before the day of the auction, the chapter posts on social media a catalog of all the options bidders can pick from, that way bidders who want to be in on a group event can plan ahead of time.
The $4,150 raised this year will be split up between the Minnesota FFA, the Wisconsin FFA and Minnesota 4H. Money donated to both state FFAs will go towards the blue jacket funds and money donated to 4H will go towards whatever the state needs.
Brother Styer said they fund both state FFAs because they are close enough to the border and the chapter has a fair number of brothers from Wisconsin. He explained that since these organizations were such big parts of the brothers’ growing up and leading them to a life in agriculture, they wanted to give youth members of those organizations the same opportunities the brothers had.
“We have received a lot of individual thank you notes,” Brother Styer said. “We know, based on how much money we donated, how many jackets we are paying for.”
He said throughout the year, the chapter receives these thank you notes from FFA youth who saw that AGR Lambda Chapter as one of the sponsors that helped them get their blue jacket.
“I think it’s really special that we get to give back and support those students and help them realize their potential in 4H and FFA,” Brother Styer said.
