Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) retired the traditional basketball brackets this year and opted for a more fuzzy alternative to March Madness.
The brothers hosted their first pet-inspired fundraising competition, nicknamed Mutt Madness, during mid-March. KDR raised over $100 and donated all proceeds to the Clinton County SPCA.
KDR President, Devon Bartleson, stated that the event aimed to enhance the fraternity’s image while simultaneously boosting on-campus involvement.
“Oftentimes events feel like they’re just for the brothers and their friends, so we tried a new approach on things [by] opening up [to] the people’s homes and involving pets,” Bartleson said
Another reason behind the fundraiser stemmed from students’ love for sharing and bragging about their pets.
“It was great to see when you’d mention the event, and people immediately scroll[ed] through their phone to show you all their photos,” Bartleson said.
The fundraiser was conducted as a social media campaign across Instagram. With nearly 700 followers, LHU’s oldest fraternity published a series of posts advertising the event and encouraged students to submit a picture of their favorite fuzzy friends.
Despite titling the fundraiser Mutt Madness, KDR welcomed submissions of all pets. Each entry cost participants $5, and registration began March 8.
Students entered the competition by filling out the Google Form that was linked in the fraternity’s Instagram bio. Participants were required to include their names, emails, pet’s name, and photograph to successfully register. Upon completion, they received a donation link via email to process their entry fee.
A total of 20 pets were registered for the fundraiser, featuring 17 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 rabbit. KDR teased the furry contestants in a social media post on March 13 and asked followers to comment on their favorite early picks.
After the five-day registration period ended, pets were ranked against one another using a random name generator. The preliminary voting round started on March 14.
KDR hosted the competition publicly through Instagram stories, specifically utilizing the app’s polling feature. The campus community could vote between which two pets they liked best in each pre-selected bracket. The pet with the highest percentage of votes after 24 hours advanced to the next round beginning around noon the following day.
The KDR brothers also encouraged voters to share their favorite picks on their personal social media feed to generate additional buzz and votes.
“The minute I saw my dog, Zane, posted to KDR’s Instagram story, I quickly shared it with all of my friends and family to help get him as many votes as possible,” said student participant, Ashley Lawson. She said, “I even posted the link on my Facebook. I normally don’t partake in Greek Life activities, but I enjoyed being a part of this one.”
Following nine days of voting, Mo, a boxer breed submitted by Olivia Anastos, earned the first-ever KDR Mutt Madness champion title. Mo’s win was announced on March 23 via an Instagram post. In addition to bragging rights, pet owner Anastos received a $25 Sheetz gift card.
“I’m excited my dog won. I think it was great that KDR donated to the SPCA with the money they earned from Mutt Madness, and I’m glad that I was able to help contribute to that,” Anastos said.
Bartleson hopes to establish Mutt Madness as an annual tradition based on the event’s perceived popularity.
“The event was very successful in my eyes,” he said. “I would love to do the event again next year and establish it as a new tradition because of how much interaction we received in comments, DMs, and voting. I feel like it helped the image of the fraternity and showed how open we are to everyone on campus and in the community.”
Kerri Hoover
Kerri Hoover is in her third year working on the Eagle Eye staff and currently serves as the President and Editor-in-Chief. As a Lock Haven University senior, she majors in Communication with a triple-concentration focus in Advertising & Public Relations, Electronic Media, and Journalism. With her versatile skill set, Kerri hopes to pursue a career working as a social media content creator, journalist, or video editor. On the rare occasion Kerri isn’t working in the newsroom, she can be found hanging out with her friends, working at the PUB, or creating content for the LHU Media and Journalism Department.
