In 2004, an idea was born that became an institution.
The Eta Chapter of Sigma Delta Tau at the University of Georgia developed a fundraising tradition that became a beloved Fall event for the entire Greek community. This year, SDT Greek Grind celebrated its twentieth anniversary. “There’s a lot to celebrate this year,” said Elli Russoto (Eta–Georgia), the SDT Greek Grind Coordinator. In addition to being the twentieth year of their event, the Eta chapter is also celebrating its centennial.
Leigh Harris Slovitt (Eta-Georgia) conceived of the SDT Greek Grind idea as a sophomore member in 2004 when she visited a similar event at a high school friend’s college. “I thought to myself, ‘We need this at UGA but bigger and better!’” she wrote in an email.
At the time, Leigh was the VP of Philanthropy for Eta. She called on the new members to help her create committees for planning. They worked on advertising, ticket sales, judging criteria and more. Leigh worked to get the other chapters on-board, and she served as the first emcee. “Now it’s quite comical to think of hosting the event today by myself,” she said.
Twenty years ago, the ticket price was $3, which the sisterhood chose conservatively to encourage attendance. “I just wanted as many people as possible to cheer on the sororities that worked so hard to pull a choreographed dance together,” said Leigh. “I’m not sure how many tickets we sold, but it ended up being a lot more than I expected!”
The first SDT Greek Grind raised $2500. Leigh said seven other chapters participated during the inaugural event, and by the time she graduated, there were sixteen sorority teams. The funds raised more than doubled in that time too.
Today, all twenty Panhellenic sororities at Georgia participate in the dance performances as well as a spirit points competition. The chapters earn spirit points for participation in fundraisers and other activities leading up to the night of the competition. SDT does not compete, but they close out the night of dance performances, “to end the night with a bang,” said Elli.
On October 16th, SDT Greek Grind returned to fundraise for long-time philanthropic partner, Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA). The dance competition raised an impressive $122, 728.81 this year. Though Eta is one of the smaller Panhellenic groups, SDT Greek Grind is the biggest Greek philanthropy at the university, both in size and in terms of funds raised.
In addition to the draw of the event’s energy and unifying spirit, Eta works hard to create extra appeal through their selection of the judges and the show’s emcee. This year’s judging panel included 2 UGA cheerleaders, local dance studio owners, the chapter house director, 2 SDT alumnae and Josh Murray from the Bachelorette.
One alumna judge, Emily Hertz (Eta–Georgia) was there when the event was conceived, and was excited to see the growth. She was the President when the organization moved to the Classic Center in 2006 because it outgrew the original venue. This was the SDTGG’s last year at the Classic Center, which holds 2500 people and sells out every year. The venue they’re moving to, the Classic Center Arena, holds 8-10K guests. The move will allow for more people to see the event live.
“Twenty years later, the fact that [SDT] Greek Grind is stronger than ever is beyond anything we could have imagined, but everything we ever dreamed,” said Emily. “[It’s] such a powerful event as it brings the entire Panhellenic community together to shine a bright light on PCAA, which is a meaningful and deserving organization doing important work, supporting children.The impact [the event] makes on PCAA and the sense of community [the event] fosters among Panhellenic can’t be understated.”
Chapter President Zephy Schroeder (Eta–Georgia) chaired the event last year. She said the chapter takes pride in spreading the message of PCAA to such a large audience. In addition to the folks in the venue, about 1000 viewers tune in annually on the livestream.
“We play a video and invite a speaker from PCAA to come and tell everyone about the cause,” she said. “This is a great audience of people to learn about PCAA. We take pride in being able to educate so many on the positive impact that PCAA makes.”
She said sorority women collectively take great pride in the event too. “There is a buzz in the air the morning of. Many refer to the day as a UGA Greek Life Holiday,” said Zephy. “They come decked in their letters with signs cheering on their friends. It is amazing to see all of this energy around a philanthropy event.”
SDT Greek Grind focuses on creating a fun atmosphere and experience for all involved. This year’s host, celebrity Matt Bennett of Nickelodeon’s Victorious, offered a thrilling throwback for students who grew up watching him on TV. The star did not disappoint.
“Matt was absolutely the perfect host,” Elli said. “Usually the host will follow the script that we give them, but he was adding and making the most of every opportunity he had on stage. He was so funny, and did a really great job of engaging the crowd.”
The crowd stayed loud and energetic throughout the performances and the announcements of the winning chapters. The winners of the spirit points competition and the top three dances win cash prizes for their own philanthropy. This year, Kappa Delta came in first place, with Phi Mu and Zeta Tau Alpha coming in second and third places, respectively.
Kappa Delta’s win was hard-earned and extra special. KD and SDT share PCAA as a national philanthropy.
Zephy was happy to see the newest sorority on campus, Alpha Xi Delta, embrace the experience. “Last year we were able to add the newest Panhellenic sorority to the event, and it was a night and day difference watching them compete this year. It was so fun to see them really get into it and perform an amazing dance,” she said.
For Elli, who has been working on the event since January, the magnitude of the event has been inspiring. “It’s honestly crazy to me how young [we are] and how much we’re able to accomplish. It’s really special how big the event has grown,” Elli said. “We really, really value this event and we take it very seriously.”
“This has been such an amazing opportunity for me these last couple of months,” said Elli, who hopes to work in event planning after graduation. She said SDT Greek Grind has taught her important lessons about leadership, delegating tasks, and motivating others.
When asked if she imagined that the event would grow as it has, Leigh said, “I imagined it because that’s what got me excited about the idea. But I never realized the following would come so fast and that years after I graduated, we’d be selling out at the Classic Center!”
She said her heart is warmed by the chapter’s ongoing commitment to grow the event, and she hopes that the event will include all Greek organizations in the future. “I see SDT Greek Grind being the event that integrates all of the Greek councils on campus,” said Leigh. “I participated in the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s step competition with SDT, and loved their model of having a liaison with each Panhellenic and Multicultural sorority to teach them a step routine.”
In the end, Leigh is amazed and proud of all that has come from a little dream.
“I’ll never forget the feeling I had the night of the very first SDT Greek Grind, as I watched the women dance their hearts out, heard the crowd go wild with cheers, and saw the big smiles of pride on my sorority sisters’ faces as they experienced something really special themselves. It was powerful.”