Sigma Alpha Lambda raised $80 last Friday night during a fundraising event hosted by Orange Leaf, 1114 Commercial St., Suite C. SAL received 15 percent of the sales between 6 and 8 p.m. The money raised will help cover travel costs for an upcoming conference in February.

“We are going to a national leadership conference (National Collegiate Leadership Conference) in Arizona,” said Timothy Thomas, senior crime and delinquency major and president of SAL. “We went last year, and it really benefited us. It’s a great deal. We learned a lot about how to develop teams, and…we brought it back.”

The conference is a three-day event from Feb. 15-17, hosted by the University of Arizona that “serves as the cornerstone of the leadership experience and training for hundreds of college students across the nation,” according to the conference’s website. “Each year, over 600 students from schools in over 20 states come to NCLC to learn about leadership.”

SAL is a leadership and honors organization on campus that focuses on academics, but the group also strives to foster leadership skills and habits in its members.

“We want to promote good grades, and we also want to make young men and women into leaders and help the community and help the campus,” said Marissa Grier, senior elementary education major and SAL member. “(We want to) do whatever we can to help people.”

Crista Grimwood, co-owner of Orange Leaf in Emporia, said the store agreed to help with the fundraiser because they enjoy being able to give back to the community.

“It’s a win-win situation for us because it generates customers, but it is also a win for the organization because it also generates fundraising revenue for them as well,” Grimwood said.

SAL also recently collected roughly 7,000 cans of food during its Fight Against Hunger Campaign, which were donated to local food pantries. Their next big event is the SAL kick-off party on Jan. 28. They also hope to be able to host a benefit concert and guest speakers in March and plant trees in April.