Des Moines Register
04-09-07
Ball at ISU to raise money for diabetes
The National Society of Collegiate Scholars chapter at Iowa State University
hopes to make it an annual event.
By ERIC LUND
REGISTER CORRESPONDENT
A charity ball planned for Friday at Iowa State University will give attendees the
chance to dine and dance in Reiman Gardens and also help raise money for a
worthy cause.
Proceeds from the ball, organized by Iowa State's chapter of the National Society
of Collegiate Scholars, will be given to the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation.
"It is a charity that kind of hit home with a few of our members," said Dan
Feimster, vice president of community service for the group. "(Juvenile diabetes)
affects a lot of people."
Tickets to the semi-formal dinner are $30, or $20 for ISU students, and the doors
will open at 6 p.m. Private tables will be available, Feimster said, and after a
dinner provided by Center Plate Catering, attendees can dance in the garden
under the stars.
Although pre-registration is suggested, tickets will be available for purchase at
the door, and Feimster said the group is trying to attract about 100 attendees. He
said the group hopes to raise a few thousand dollars with the event.
"My cousin actually has juvenile diabetes," said Brittany Anderson, ISU student
and vice president of community service for the group's national
leadership council. "That was one of my deciding factors in why we chose this
charity."
"Over the past year he's had a lot of health problems associated with this
disease," she said, adding that currently there is no cure.
According to the research foundation's Web site, about 13,000 American children
are diagnosed with the disease each year.
Feimster said he hopes the honors society can establish the event as a yearly
tradition.
"The way we're viewing it, this is the hardest year, getting the graphics up, and
the plan of action down," Feimster said.
The ISU chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars has 1,500
members and 5,000 alumni, and Anderson said the group should be wellrepresented at the event.
Formal invitations were also sent out to members of the Ames and Iowa State
community, she said.
In the past, the ISU chapter has been involved in smaller community service
projects, such as the annual Brookside Bash in Ames and working with the Beloit
Children's Home.
The National Society of Collegiate Scholars bills itself as the premier honors
organization in the country, and has chapters at 226 colleges and universities.
Membership is invitation-only and is based on academic achievement.