Frat plans inaugural charity kickball event

Despite a setback caused by the weekend’s rain, Phi Kappa Theta will still hold “Kicks for Kids.”

Despite a setback caused by the weekend’s rain, Phi Kappa Theta will still hold “Kicks for Kids.”

Phi Kappa Theta fraternity’s inaugural “Kicks for Kids” kickball tournament, planned for Sunday but postponed due to rain, will donate all proceeds to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia through partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network. This year’s event will kick off an annual tradition for the fraternity.

Kicks for Kids will be the first of its kind for Phi Kappa Theta. The tournament’s postponement, however, will push it back far enough that no more on-campus field space is available for event use.

“We thought everyone would be going home for the summer, so we decided we’re probably going to restructure it, improve it and have it sometime in the Fall,” Marc Vollo, a junior marketing major and member of Phi Kappa Theta who helped organize the tournament, said. “But it’s definitely going to happen. We’ve been planning it since January.”

Phi Kappa Theta has achieved 11 percent of its overall goal to raise $7,500 for CHOP. The money will support a variety of patient programs that aren’t funded by health insurance, which benefits many children in the Philadelphia area.

The fraternity, established at Temple more than five years ago, adheres to its motto, “Give expecting nothing thereof,” and focuses on charity and philanthropic work around campus and in the area. Its assistance in hosting March’s Relay for Life at Temple helped 1,181 students raise more than $37,000 for the American Cancer Society.

For the kickball tournament, members are required to raise at least $10 to join a team. Teams are expected to raise at least $200. About 30 teams were ready to compete Sunday, but fraternity brothers said they hope for even more participants when the tournament does take place.

Phi Kappa Theta has also set up a page on the CHOP website, where supporters can donate money directly to the cause, join an existing kickball team, form their own or support a member on GiftOfChildhood.com.

The top three winning teams at the tournament, as well as the team that raises the most money, have the opportunity to win prizes like Phillies tickets or other goods donated by Rodale Press, a publishing company and source for health and wellness content.

“Playing kickball is something we did as children. It’s very nostalgic,” Vollo said. “We get so busy as college students that we forget what it was to be a child. It’s great that we can do this to raise awareness and benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and kids in need. Everyone wins.”

Doanh Nghiem can be reached at doanh.nghiem@temple.edu

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