Wish Week 2024

Hi there!

My name is Juliette Arellano, and I served as this year's Wish Week Director, responsible for planning Chi Omega's Wish Week. Wish Week focuses on organizing our primary fundraising events to benefit Chi Omega's philanthropy, Make-A-Wish. Alongside my co-director, Megli Talley, I oversaw the coordination of our chapter's benefit day, letter writing campaign, and two significant fundraising initiatives for this cause. It was a privilege to work with the philanthropy team to make a difference and I thoroughly enjoyed the event planning process.

Chi Omega hosted two main events this year: Chi O Carnival and Rallying for Wishes. Chi O Carnival was held at the house and featured carnival games, a petting zoo, a "Pie a Chi-O" station, as well as a popcorn and lemonade stand. Attendees purchased tickets to participate in this exciting event and show their support for Make-A-Wish. Organizing the carnival required hard work and dedication, but the turnout was fantastic, making it a joyous and memorable experience for all involved. My favorite memory from this event would be riding the horse around the Chi Omega house!

Rallying for Wishes was the second major event that took place during Wish Week. This was Epsilon Alpha’s first pickleball fundraising event that took place right outside of campus at the Timberdell tennis courts. This was one of my favorite events to plan for because pickleball is one of my favorite activities to take part in. Planning this event was very detail-oriented because we had to plan the tournament system, the prizes, the refreshments, the decorations, and the food that would be at the event. My team and I all came together to tackle all of these tasks to set up our pickleball event. We even got the well-known brand Celsius to provide their drinks in support of Make-A-Wish! The event was a success, with our tournament having more participants than expected and having beautiful weather that day! Everyone who bought tickets and participated emphasized how much fun they had. The most rewarding part of this experience was seeing all of the Wish Week team’s hard work come together successfully, receiving great feedback, and seeing how much fun everyone had at this event. Rallying for Wishes was the last event of our Wish Week, and it was a great way to end our biggest fundraising week for this philanthropy.

I really enjoyed planning such a special week for Make-A-Wish! My role as Wish Week Director taught me very important skills during my junior year at OU. This position as Wish Week Director taught me how to effectively lead team meetings and assign tasks to achieve our short-term goals. Additionally, I gained insights on managing my time to plan the event within specific deadlines. Utilizing media platforms to create event designs and sticking to a budget were also skills I developed. Furthermore, I grasped the importance of maintaining constant communication with my team when facing challenges during event planning and adapting to unexpected changes. The skills and lessons acquired as Wish Week Director will stay with me throughout my academic and professional journey.

Xoxo,

Juliette Arellano

PC’21