As part of a national service week to raise money for children’s literacy, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity will host Shark Sync, a lip syncing competition, on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Don Taft University Center pit.
75 percent of all proceeds will go to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a service that provides preschool-aged children and their families, regardless of their income, with a book every month for five years. The other 25 percent of the proceeds will go toward the charity or philanthropy of the winning team’s choice.
“No kid shouldn’t have the opportunity that everyone else has. Just because your parents can’t afford a book doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to read,” said Morgan Thorn, junior biology major and service vice president of Alpha Phi Omega.
Every year, the national office of APhiO hosts a national service week the first week of November to raise money for a specific cause. According to APhiO’s website, this year’s theme is “Literacy for All.” In the past, the service fraternity hosted an annual date auction, but because multiple organizations on campus host date auctions as well, Thorn wanted to try something different.
“It’s something different that hasn’t really been done before on NSU’s campus,” Thorn said. “It’s a good way to spend a Thursday night.”
Teams of five to ten students will perform for three to five minutes each to a song and routine of their choice. Upon registration, which costs $15 per team, teams will be assigned a specific song they are expected to perform if they are one of the final three teams. Teams can email Thorn to sign up by Oct. 29.
Throughout the competition, baskets will be passed around the audience for people to donate money to their favorite team. While the judges make the final decision, all donations will be counted toward the final amount of proceeds to be donated.
According to the Imagination Library website, over 60,000,000 books have been delivered to children in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom since the program launched in 2000. There are currently over 850,000 children registered for the program in the U.S. alone.
For more information on Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, visit imaginationlibrary.com. For more information on Shark Sync or to register a team, contact Thorn at mt1067@nova.edu.
