Derby Days

The mission of Derby Days is easily stated: to serve the community. Since the birth of our Fraternity, Sigma Chi has endeavored to give back to the community. Because Derby Days affords each chapter the unique opportunity to positively impact the community, it has been the most publicized and visible way for our chapter to serve others.

History

The tradition of Sigma Chi's Derby Days began in the Spring of 1933 at the Alpha Beta Chapter at the University of California-Berkeley, under the name "Channingway Derby." Located on Channing Way, the Alpha Beta Sigma Chi's sponsored an event composed of a series of humorous skits. In fact, one publication later cited the event as "California's most amusing tradition."

In the spring of 1935 after receiving reports of the Channingway Derby, Beta Sigma Chapter at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville made plans for a similar event. Instead of skits, the event was planned around an all-day track and field competition between the pledge classes of nine sororities at Tennessee. More than 1,000 people attended the event to witness the first Derby involving sororities.

Coincidentally, on that day four Sigma Chi's from the Delta Chapter at the University of Georgia were visiting Knoxville and witnessed the festivities. The brothers took the idea back to their campus and named their production "Sigma Chi Derby," which seems to have stuck. During the 1960's, Derby began to take on the philanthropic approach for which it is known on many campuses.

At the 1992 Sigma Chi Leadership Training Workshop, the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) was introduced as Sigma Chi's suggested beneficiary of proceeds from chapter community service projects. The CMN, an alliance of 165 hospitals and health care facilities, generates funds for the children its associated hospitals serve.

Today

Today, Sigma Chi Derby Day events are held to assist a number of charitable causes, some allocating a percentage of the proceeds to a local philanthropy and part to the Children's Miracle Network. Here at the University of Pittsburgh, all of our proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Each year, we raise tens of thousands of dollars for this foundation. Since Sigma Chi began raising money for charitable causes, the fraternity has raised well over $2 million for these groups. During the 1999-2000 year Sigma Chi donated over $600,000 to CMN hospitals.