ZBTahiti is our largest annual philanthropy endeavor and party that takes place each spring at the chapter house. At the beginning of the semester, brothers have the opportunity to pitch a cause or organization that they are passionate about to the chapter. Often times, brothers share personal stories about their loved ones to create connections to a cause meaningful to them, which, in turn, become meaningful to the whole brotherhood. After hearing all of the pitches, the brothers vote on one cause that they support the most and the cause with the most votes becomes the semester’s philanthropy endeavor. During the week leading up to Tahiti, our chapter hosts various philanthropy events such as the MacTaggart’s fundraiser or selling T-shirts to raise awareness for our selected cause and build up hype for the party. In addition to selling tickets for the party, brothers share information about the cause with their friends and family and spread the word. Additionally, brothers help set up decorations and organize the backyard in preparation for the event. On Saturday, the day of Tahiti, hundreds of UW-Madison students come out to enjoy a beach-themed party featuring a performance from a name DJ/artist that the chapter hires for the event.
In spring of 2023, our chapter brought back Tahiti for the first time since the Pandemic. In February, brothers Eli Hartman and Aidan Mach (2025) shared the story about a dear friend Milo Kessler who tragically passed away from Osteosarcoma at 18 years old. In honor of Milo, the brothers elected to support the Osteosarcoma Institute (OSI) - an organization doing phenomenal work to research new treatment for the rare form of bone cancer. The chapter ended up raising over $34,000 in support of the OSI, which funded a pilot study working to discover new osteosarcoma treatment - and had a blast while doing so:
