The English honor society Sigma Tau Delta has been conducting a fundraiser so that members can attend an international conference in Savannah, Ga.
Students in the organization want to attend the Sigma Tau Delta 2014 International Conference, where the society will celebrate its 90th birthday. The fundraiser includes t-shirts, handmade book bags and miscellaneous donated items sold at the Evans Complex between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“We’re hoping to maybe getting three or four members of the society accepted to present at the conference,” Public Relations officer Heather Robbins said. “That is going to cost a lot for airfare and hotel fees.”
So far, the group said the fundraiser has been a success, but that there is no projecting how much money they’ll make total until the sale is over.
“We’ve sold over $400 the first day, $400 from our T-shirt sales,” Robbins said. “We are well on our way and hopefully we can get the rest of these taken care of in the next couple of days. We are grateful for what we’ve got so far. If we didn’t make another penny we’d be grateful. Although we hope that’s not the case.”
The fundraiser is also a tactic to get new associates for the club Robbins said.
“People that didn’t even know we were here to begin with (may join),” she said. “And for those who might have questions for us, there is always an officer here.”
Unsold items will be donated to charities Sigma Tau Delta is associated with.
“We do this annually, but we are most likely going to start to do this more often,” Robbins said. “It just depends on how many donations we get.”
The conference will feature guest authors Alison Bechdel, known for “Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic” and “Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama;” Justin Torres, known for “We the Animals;” and scholar Daniel Mendelsohn, who is a New York Times book critic known for “The Well and the Mine.”
Anyone interested can donate new or old used books to Sigma Tau Delta. The books could be used in the fundraiser or given to the group’s charities. The sale runs through Thursday.
For more information, contact the English department.