Battle of Xi Bands
Temple University’s Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta Hosts their second annual fundraising event for the Kindly Hearts Initiative
On November 29th, 2023, Temple University’s chapter of Alpha Xi Delta hosted their second annual Battle of Xi Bands at Paddy Whacks Pub. This event raised money for The Kindly Hearts Initiative, which supports children and teens experiencing foster care or homelessness. Each chapter of Alpha Xi Delta is required to host a philanthropy event for the initiative, and with Philadelphia’s rich underground music culture, members thought a battle of the bands would be perfect.
The Kindly Hearts Initiative is Alpha Xi Delta’s national philanthropy program.It serves as an umbrella for their main philanthropic focus: adolescent homelessness and foster care. FosterClub and StandUp for Kids are Alpha Xi Delta’s key impact organizations.
“This is an event that is so specific to Temple’s unique student body,” said Jamie Murray, junior journalism major and member of Alpha Xi Delta’s internal philanthropy board.
The AmaXIng Challenge is the sorority’s signature fundraising event that each chapter hosts. At Temple, Alpha Xi Delta’s AmaXIng Challenge was the Battle of Xi Bands.
The bands that competed were Cadalay, Running in Circles, Trouble at the Doormat and D.I.S.C., all featuring Temple students. All of these bands have also performed in D.I.Y. house shows in North Philadelphia. Jennifer Frevola, junior media studies and production major and AmaXIng Challenge Chair for Alpha Xi Delta expressed that they wanted to have a diverse range of students come out to support this cause.
“The crowd that goes to house shows aren’t typically a part of Greek life, so we thought that this would be a perfect event to bring all types of students together to support a good cause,” said Frevola.
James Calderwood, junior film and media arts major, the vocalist and bassist for Trouble at the Doormat was very excited for this event. He was happy he got to support The Kindly Hearts Initiative by doing what he loves doing, performing with his band.
“We love playing together, and we get to support a great cause,” Calderwood said.
Tickets for the event cost $15, which included admittance into the event, food and soft drinks. Attendees could vote for their favorite bands with a $1 donation, where each dollar equated to one vote. From this event, Temple’s Alpha Xi Delta raised $600 for the Kindly Hearts Initiative.
After amazing sets from all four bands, Running In Circles won. Zach Pacuraru, sophomore bioengineering major and member of Running In Circles, expressed that he and his bandmates were honored to be able to participate in a competition like this.
“We’re always happy to see when music is used for a positive impact, and we were even more excited to have the opportunity to play at this event,” said Pacuraru.
The second annual Battle of Xi Bands event turned out to be a huge success. It brought two unlikely Temple University student groups together: one consisting of greek life members and the other featuring Philadelphia’s D.I.Y. music crowd. These contrasting cultures joined forces for one event and helped to raise money for a great cause.
