On a small mound of warm, cinnamon-sugar-coated fried dough, a scoop of ice cream melted. Thick, gooey chocolate was the next layer of sweetness. Tiny, candied rainbow-colored rods topped the sugary concoction.
The cavity-inducing dessert was a way to raise money.
The UF Sigma Chapter of Pi Delta Psi hosted its yearly Chinese Donuts and Ice Cream Fundraiser Wednesday evening. The event was held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at TeaStori, located in the Equilease South plaza near the corner of Southwest 35th Place and Southwest 34th Street.
“We wanna host a fundraiser where people can enjoy a piece of one of the cultures we have in our fraternity,” said Anthony Nguyen, external vice president and rush chairman.
Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American cultural fraternity, was founded by 11 men of different nationalities (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Vietnamese) in February 1994. It is guided by four principles: academic achievement, righteousness, cultural awareness, and friendship and loyalty.
According to the organization’s website, the brothers believe that through education they can become “more knowledgeable about different Asian cultures” and “overcome obstacles of racism and discrimination.”
The UF chapter of Pi Delta Psi was first started in 2003 by a group of friends who wanted an Asian-American fraternity on campus. They wanted to create a social organization that would also be beneficial for their cultural community.
The organization was officially recognized by UF in 2006. It was the first Asian-American cultural fraternity at the university and in the state of Florida.
“[There’s] endless amounts of culture in our fraternity,” Nguyen said. “Chinese doughnuts is one of the ways we share that to the crowd. And they’re really easy to make.”
Chinese doughnuts are a part of traditional Chinese cuisine. The deep-fried balls of dough, roughly the size of pingpong balls, are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and typically covered in white sugar.
The doughnuts, deep fried and sugared on-site by Fundraising Chairman Ben Castillo, were $3 for two or $4 for four. The vanilla ice cream was $1 per scoop. Sprinkles, condensed milk, chocolate syrup and Oreo cookie pieces were free to add on.
The brothers will use the money raised to host events that inform others about the fraternity as well as spreading cultural awareness. The money will also go toward co-sponsoring events for, and with, other organizations, Nguyen said.
TeaStori made its own contribution to Pi Delta Psi. For every customer who ordered a large drink, $1 was donated to the organization.
The fraternity’s event is not an uncommon one for the tea shop to host. Other UF associations hold fundraisers there on a regular basis.
“There’s so many,” said Lili Tzou, a sophomore at UF. “The Asian orgs always have fundraisers here.”
Her friend Claire Generato nodded in agreement.
“All the other Asian orgs come to support them,” the 20-year-old said.
Tzou, 19, and Generato mentioned that they had just attended a fundraiser at the café the previous evening.
Pi Delta Psi’s Chinese doughnut fundraiser is one of the fraternity’s most popular events.
“It’s really successful,” Nguyen said. “People like it a lot.”