DeKALB — The Alpha Phi sorority is hosting its annual philanthropy event, Red Dress Gala for Women’s Cardiac Care, 6 p.m. Saturday in the Duke Ellington Ballroom. The event is a cocktail-style evening with a casino theme and will include appetizers, desserts, casino games and silent auctions.

NIU is home to the Epsilon Delta Chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority. The sorority is celebrating its 50th year on campus.

Maddie Dero, Alpha Phi’s vice president of community relations, said she is excited for the event and is positive it will have a good turnout.

Tickets to the event are no longer available but donations and bids are still open on the event’s Give Smart, a fundraising web domain, page.

Each year the Alpha Phi Foundation provides an annual Heart-to-Heart grant. This grant offers up to $100,000 to medical professionals to better understand women’s heart health. All the foundation funds are for the purpose of research and education programs in advancing medicine, according to the Alpha Phi Foundation website. Last year’s grant recipient was University of California Davis Health. UC Davis is using the money to improve diagnostic accuracy for acute myocardial injuries, heart attacks and cardiac risk stratification for women in the emergency department, according to the Alpha Phi organization website.

Dero said goodie baskets will be auctioned off with different themes like spa, movie night and beauty. One of the baskets this year is “Travel to Italy” and includes bottled wine, pasta and bread. All the proceeds from the silent auctions, raffles and direct donations will go to Women’s Cardiac Care.

With online direct donations, there are different amounts for people to donate. They range from $25 to $2,500, according to givesmart.com. Another option for donations on the website is ‘other,’ allowing individuals to donate what they can afford. Buying raffle tickets from the website is similar to direct donations; you can spend $10 for 10 tickets, $20 for 25 tickets and $30 for 40 tickets, according to givesmart.com.