Dense fog and a bitter November chill couldn’t keep the sisters of the Alpha Phi Eta Theta sorority off their seesaw.

To raise money and spread awareness about heart disease, the women teeter-tottred for 12 consecutive hours Wednesday during their annual Teeter-Totter A-thon.

Bundled up in blankets, sweatshirts and Ugg boots, more than 30 women crowded around the giant teeter-totter. The sorority sisters took turns riding the playground favorite for 15-minute shifts, keeping it undulating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“The up and down of the teeter-totter is supposed to represent the constant heartbeat,” explained event organizer Lauren Weldon, 20, and director of philanthropy for SF State’s Alpha Phi chapter. Weldon said the idea was created by the international Alpha Phi fraternity.

The seesaw was built and donated by Weldon’s father. Modifications such as padded seats with back support and a metal structure as opposed to wood helped make the teeter-totter more comfortable to ride and disassemble at the end of the day.

“I haven’t been on a teeter-totter in like a hundred years,” said Nicole Thompson, 18, as she rode the seesaw in her first-ever Teeter-Totter-A-Thon.

Groups of about four traversed the entire campus, shouting their slogan, “Have a heart, save a heart,” and collecting donations. The women also had tables on either side of the teeter-totter, where they sold lollipops, fruit and baked goods made with recipes approved by the American Heart Association.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suggests that, to keep the heart healthy, one should eat less fat, less sodium, fewer calories and more fiber. Doing daily physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and lowering cholesterol are also pathways to deter heart disease.

“All of our heart-healthy desserts [are] not made with butter, they’re made with applesauce and oatmeal,” said 20-year-old Allie Schratz, the sorority’s director of marketing. The cookies and muffins were home-baked by the sisters; a task they said took four hours the previous evening.

Their work was appreciated by passers-by like Kristen Hindiyeh, a 20-year-old political science major who said her cookie was delicious.

“I think it’s great that they’re raising money,” Hindiyeh said. “It looks like they’re having fun.”

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in America, according to the American Heart Association. The money raised by the Teeter-Totter-A-Thon goes to the Alpha Phi Foundation, which the international fraternity’s Web site describes as “the philanthropic arm of Alpha Phi Fraternity.”

The Foundation adopted cardiac care and research as its primary cause in 1946. Other events, in addition to the Teeter-Totter-A-Thon, are held to raise money to combat heart disease, including a Red Dress Gala in May featuring a silent auction.

While money is also raised throughout the year for other needs such as leadership training and scholarship programs, the money designated for cardiac care is compiled into an annual Cardiac Care Award. It is then given to one organization every spring. Last year’s winner was the American Heart Association (AHA) based in San Diego. The foundation gave them approximately $50,000.

“The award has been wonderful here,” Eric Thompson, the communications director of the San Diego AHA office said. “It’s helped us raise awareness a lot around the San Diego campaign and it has given us a chance to work closely with the sorority here in San Diego.”

The goal of this years event, Weldon said, was not necessarily to raise the most money possible, but to spread awareness about heart disease.

“Heart disease is the number one killer of women and I think a lot of people don’t know that and it’s the really important thing that you need to start being aware of,” she said.

Although awareness was the primary objective, the monetary goal was achieved. The girls raised $887.26, a comforting thought at the end of a 12-hour day in which temperatures ranged from high 50s to low 40s and the sun never came out.

As 8 p.m. neared, the women were huddled together on the grass doing homework, each wearing two jackets, scarves, hats, and blankets to fend off the chilly wind. The teeter-totter had not stopped for more than afew seconds when the women changed shifts.

“I’m feeling awesome about all the money we made today, but, yes, I’m cold and tired,” said sister Beth Timoney, 20.

“[That was] definitely the best teeter-totter we’ve had in quite a few years,” Weldon said, her raised hood tightened over her hat and scarf. “All the older girls are saying that this is one of the better ones. I can’t tell if it’s just we’re lucky or maybe [we had] a little more organization.”