Delta Phi Epsilon sorority received an award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for outstanding donations and community service efforts.

Lynn Potucek, consultant to the executive board of Delta Phi Epsilon, accepted the 1988 Service Club Award Feb. 5 on behalf of the entire sorority.

The sorority raised over $2,000 from a Deepher Dude contest held last semester. Potucek said the contest is a talent show including one member from each NIU fraternity. She said the sorority has sponsored the event since the NIU chapter’s establishment nine years ago.

Potucek said this is the first time the sorority has won the award. The sorority was happy to win the award because it “reminded us of our purpose” to raise money for cystic fibrosis, she said.

Although controversy arose about a skit performed during the contest, Potucek said the award proved “Deepher Dude in the whole was for a good cause.”

“It was worthwhile and we’d like to continue to do it (because) we do get a lot of support from NIU,” she said.

Associate Director of Cystic Fibrosis Cheryl Lamm said one award usually is given each year. The same award given to the D-Phi-E sorority at NIU also was given to the D-Phi-E chapters at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The approximate combined donations were more than $10,000, she said.

The combined effort of the three chapters increased the impact of the Chicago-area CF chapter in terms of service awareness and generated funds, she said.

Fund raising assistant Eleanor Smith said the CF foundation has a budget of about $1 million for each fiscal year to provide for research and care of patients. She said the disease is a genetic disorder that usually affects children.

The disease affects the upper respiratory system and keeps saliva from digesting food. Ten years ago, the life expectancy for a cystic fibrosis victim was four to five years. Through continuous research, the life expectancy of the victim now is 21 years.