Phi Delta Theta Chapter President Matthew Garrison (from left), Professor Bruce Hartley, fraternity members Ben Brown and Brody White.
Rogers State University’s Phi Delta Theta Chapter recently raised nearly $2,000 to benefit a university professor diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
According to Chapter President Matthew Garrison, the fraternity has a historical association with the LiveLikeLou Foundation – an institution committed to making an impact on ALS research and supporting the children of families affected by ALS.
As charitable events are among the fraternity’s activities, the idea for the fundraiser that would eventually benefit an RSU professor came to Garrison when he was at a conference out of state.
“Last summer, some of my fraternity brothers and I went to a conference in Oxford, Ohio – where the fraternity was founded,” Garrison said. “While we were there, we got several good ideas for fundraisers, including one called ‘Pie a Phi’, which we decided would be a good way for us to raise money for our philanthropic event.”
Since the fraternity is committed to supporting the fight against ALS, Garrison said it was decided to make this fundraiser more personal.
“There’s a professor on campus – Bruce Hartley – who’s been diagnosed with ALS,” he said. “Several (fraternity) brothers had had him (as an instructor), and it was decided that the fundraiser would benefit him and his family specifically. We wanted to raise as much money as we could to try and make a small difference.”
After this decision, the fraternity scheduled and held the “Pie a Phi” fundraiser on Sept. 26 on campus, allowing members to get a pie in the face for a good cause.
“We had whipped cream pies which we sold — $5 for three or $15 for a ‘wacky pack’ which included condiment ‘toppings’ – which people could use to pie a Phi Delt in the face with,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, and everyone was into it. We all had a great time and in less than an hour and a half, we raised just over $1,900.”
Following the fundraiser, Garrison and other fraternity members presented Prof. Hartley with a check for the total raised: $1,911.05.
“It was pretty emotional – I think he was kind of in shock, but as Phi Delts, we’re called to help ALS-affected families, and we were all glad to be able to do something to help him, even if the difference we made was only a small one,” he said.
Garrison said the fraternity also extended offers to help Hartley in the future – whether it be to help him get groceries, mow his lawn, or in another way – an expression that extends to any living with ALS.
“Something I reiterate to our new guys is that being a Phi Delt is about being part of something that’s bigger than just themselves,” he said. “It’s a brotherhood, yes, but a brother hood that’s about much more than just hanging out, it’s about positively affecting our community, going the extra mile to make a positive difference.”
The fraternity’s next fundraiser will be its Car Wash for ALS Research in the spring of 2023.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a neurological disease that primarily affects the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement, such as those that produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. There is currently no cure for ALS.
As the first and only fraternity on campus, the Oklahoma Epsilon chapter of Phi Delta Theta is dedicated to establishing a more dominant presence of the pillars of friendship, sound learning, and rectitude to help shape its members into the best men then can be.
For more information about Phi Delta Theta, DM the group on Instagram at @rsuphidelt.