Casey Minnick for Mr. Whitman

Hi! My name is Casey Minnick, and I'm participating in a male beauty pageant style fundraiser called Mr. Whitman. I will be competing against seven other men representing fraternities and other groups across campus. The event is organized by the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority at Whitman College. November 1st is the night of the actual event, where participants will be scored on the usual categories of beauty pageants: (talent, swimsuit, interview, etc); however, most of the work for Mr. Whitman goes into the fundraising that happens beforehand. Raising money is the number one priority and in the past years Kappa has raised over $30,000. This kind of money can make a huge difference to a cause or an organization.

This year Kappa has chosen to support Trilogy, which is a local non-profit operating in Walla Walla. They offer peer-based support groups for teens struggling with addiction and recovery. The name Trilogy refers to their three areas of focus in their efforts to keep kids clean and sober: the individual, the family, and the community. Working with the parents and close family is essential for making this support system effective. The ultimate goal is to change the culture of the community so less kids become involved with drug and alcohol abuse.

As for myself, I am a senior philosophy major. I'm on the baseball team, and I'm representing my fraternity, Sigma Chi, in this competition. In high school, I completed over 100 hours of community service, but due to my involvement with the baseball team and my fraternity, I haven't been able to be as involved with the Walla Walla community as I would have liked, so I feel very blessed to be given this opportunity. It's only through your support and donations that we will be able to help Trilogy expand their facilities. More meeting space means more kids can get the help they need! Your donations will directly help improve the Walla Walla community.