Tri Delt hosts annual DHOP to support St. Jude

Delta Delta Delta served 50 pounds of pancakes at its annual philanthropic event, DHOP, to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

General Mills donated the batter for the event, said Hannah Hayes, Tri Delt’s philanthropy chair.

“I think there’s no better way to bring people together than through food," Hayes said. “It’s a really fun event when people are late-night studying, and they can take a break to meet with friends over some delicious pancakes for a good cause.”

Hayes said she thought the event was successful and well-attended. “I don’t think we’ve ever run out of pancake batter before,” Hayes said. Last year, Tri Delt raised $2,200 at DHOP. Hayes said she hoped to raise more than that this year.

All proceeds of the event will go to Tri Delt’s national philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude is a pediatric treatment and research facility that treats children regardless of a family's ability to pay.

Sophomore TJ Benedict said he came to the event to support his friends, a good cause and to eat delicious pancakes. St. Jude is a charity close to his heart, as it’s a charity that he’s worked with at home, he said.

Sophomore Samantha Mocciaro, Tri Delt's associate philanthropy chair, said she thought the event went very well, as a lot of people attended and entered the raffles. Mocciaro said the pancake eating contest was exciting and her favorite part of the night.

Contestants attempted to eat as many pancakes as possible in one minute for the pancake-eating contest. Sophomore Johnny McNitt won the contest by eating five pancakes. He won nine free meals to Noodles & Company.

Sophomore Jihyun Lee, a contestant in the pancake-eating contest, said it had been fun and exciting. Lee said she had decided to enter the contest because she had won a doughnut-eating contest in high school.

Mocciaro said the only problem with the event had been the griddles kept short-circuiting at the beginning of the event. “We had to move the tables about four times until we found a solution that worked,” Mocciaro said. The problem was fixed around 9:15 p.m., and after that, everything was fine, she said.

They did well expanding everything this year, and “maybe next year they will have different kinds of pancakes, maybe make some gluten free," Hayes said.

DHOP was from 9 to 11 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Alice Haynes Room.

Contact reporter Bridget Friendly at bridget.friendly@richmond.edu