Published 2006-08-27T00:00:00Z”/>

Tang Lor

Aug. 25, 2006, 11:29 p.m.

A Friday evening concert that was supposed to be a welcome back celebration for the Greeks turned into a fundraiser to support a fellow Greek involved in a boating accident.

Niki Bell, a member of Gamma Phi Beta, was involved in a boating accident at Lime Saddle on Lake Oroville in July. Bell suffered injuries to her head and is still recovering.

Bell’s family provided Gamma Phi Beta with shirts to sell. The funds raised will go toward paying medical bills, said Taylor Heringer, a close friend of Bell.

Raffle tickets were also sold for a dollar each at the beginning of the show. Prizes were donated by the community or bought with some of the leftover funds from last year’s budget, said Panhellenic President Amber Strandberg.

Simply Irresistible sang favorites from the ’80s while Greeks mingled on the Kendall Hall lawn.

“I’m here to check out sweet music and support Niki,” said Giovanni Salazar of Beta Theta Pi.

Woodstock’s Pizza sold pizza by the slice as well as drinks. Each slice cost $3 with $1 from every slice going to the Niki Bell Fund.

The pizzeria works closely with many community and student organizations so working with the Greeks for a good cause was a great opportunity, said Dan Ackroyd, marketing representative of Woodstock’s.

The University Police also partnered with the Greeks for the event.

“We want to be a part of providing a positive activity, and we thought this would be a good kickoff,” Lt. Eric Reichel said.

This is the first-ever organized welcome back event for the Greeks. Strandberg would like to see it happen annually, she said.

Tang Lor can be reached at <a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>