Hermanas Unidas raised more than $200 last Thursday for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life event that will take place at CSUN in April.

Fellow sisters passed out long-stemmed yellow roses to several Hermanas Unidas members on Monday night in recognition of their hard work at Harper’s Bar and Grille, where the funds were raised.

The club members will take part in the 24-hour relay as various members take turns walking the track.

Rebekah Villegas, member of Hermanas Unidas, said that Relay for Life represents something personal to her.

“I lost a grandma to cancer, so it’s just nice to participate in it,” she said.

The club also facilitated a raffle for the relay at their event at Harper’s along with an auction, which helped raise money for future club events. Members who received roses performed a dance routine for the crowd.

Mitzy Mendoza said they spent hours practicing the salsa-style choreography.

“It was a lot of hard work for the girls, but it was worth it,” she said.

Maria Barron said that most of the people who attended the fundraiser were from CSUN fraternities and sororities.

Various other fundraisers put together by Hermanas Unidas are organized to raise funds for low-income families, providing them with, among other things, blankets.

“If they’re missing a refrigerator, we try to buy it for them,” said Lourdes Munive, the co-chair of the club.

The club also plans on volunteering for Project Angel Food, an organization that provides meals for people with serious illnesses.

Members are required to complete 12 hours of community service to be considered active members.

“We try to have more community service so they can see there are certain people that need more help than we do,” said Munive.

Barron said what Hermanas Unidas is really about is empowering Latina woman through outreach projects.

She said one opportunity for club members is to become pen pals with fifth graders during the school year.

They started corresponding with the kids this past fall and will get to meet them in the spring, she said.

“We get to teach them about college and then give them a tour around CSUN,” said Barron. “They look up to us and that alone brings a smile to our faces.”

The next big event for the club is the Cesar Chavez Walk on March 30.