Fraternity sponsors charity game of wheelchair basketball
Members of the University’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chapter took to wheelchairs and faced off against the Michigan Rollin’ Pistons a youth wheelchair basketball team Wednesday night to raise funds as part of the fraternity’s philanthropic activities.
The wheelchair basketball game is part of a series of fundraising events put on by the fraternity this week, called “War of the Roses.”
LSA junior Zachary Robinson, Pi Kappa Phi philanthropy chair, said it was important that his fraternity host the basketball game to raise awareness for people with disabilities.
“They’re people, too, and they can do almost everything that an able-bodied person can,” he said.
The fraternity also organized a “penny war” Monday and its annual “Pie a Pi Kapp” event Tuesday, where participants could pay to throw a pie in the face of a fraternity member.
Robinson said the weeklong events had been successful so far, adding that the fraternity had raised over $600 from its penny war and Pie a Pi Kapp events.
The three events will culminate with the fraternity’s annual Empathy Dinner this Friday.
The War of the Roses is an event put on by Pi Kappa Phi chapters across the country; this week marks the University chapter’s first time doing so.
An integral part of the War of the Roses is sororities’ participation. Alpha Epsilon Phi, Delta Phi Epsilon, Zeta Tau Alpha and Gamma Phi Beta all partnered with Pi Kappa Phi this week.
Ultimately, one sorority will be crowned the winner of the War of the Roses based on multiple factors, including how many pennies they collected for the penny war, the number of pies they sold for students to peg Pi Kappa Phi members with and attendance points for watching the wheelchair basketball game.
After accepting their invitations to participate in the week’s festivities, each sorority nominated a member to represent them should they win the War of the Roses.