The Pendulum
Features
Thursday, April 17, 2003 •Page 13
No ride in tlie park
A group of Pi Kappa Phi brothers will pedal across the country to raise money for charity
Bree Sherry
Reporter
On June 15, four Pi Kappa Phi
brothers will leave San Francisco,
Calif., and ride their bikes to
Washington, DC. The purpose of
this 63-day cycling event across
America is to raise awareness,
funds and volunteers for people
with disabilities.
Push America, the organiza
tion heading this massive project,
was founded in 1977 by Pi Kappa
Phi “with the purpose of instilling
life long scrvice in our fraternity
members and serving people with
disabilities,” said Durward Owen,
the former executive director of
Pi Kappa Phi.
Journey of Hope is the largest
event Push America sponsors,
with 58 brothers, who reside in
North Carolina, Washington, New
Jersey, Illinois and Texas, to name
a few, travelling almost 4,000
miles across the country annually.
Five former brothers from Elen
have participated in this charity
event over the past three years.
Bree Sherry / Photographer
Bryan Scherich, Jon Williams, Brian O’Shea and Zachary Lauritzen will cycle across the country.
This year, Elon is represented by
four brothers—Zachary
Lauritzen, Brian O’Shea, Bryan
Scherich and Jon Williams.
JOB OPENING
Elon University Office of Admissions is
accepting applications for the position
of Admissions Counselor
Appointment effective June 2, 2003
DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS: APRIL 18, 2003
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Highly motivated, self starter
- Excellent communication skills
- Excellent organization skills
- Articulate
- Able to meet new people with ease
- Capable of functioning independently within the framework of a strong team
- OUTGOING
- A graduate with a B.A. or B.S. degree
Applications will be accepted beginning March 3, 2003. To apply, submit a letter
of application, resume and the names and addresses of three references to:
Mrs. Heather Stuart
Senior Associate Director of Admissions
2700 Campus Box
Elon, NC. 27244
They will travel together for
the first week of their trek and
will later split up to take either the
northern or southern route. The
southern route includes riding
through cities such as Las Vegas,
Phoenix, Albuquerque, Dallas,
Birmingham, Greenville, Atlanta,
Charlotte, Greensboro and
Manassas. Those traveling on the
northern route will bike through
Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha,
Des Moines, Milwaukee,
Chicago, South Bend, Ann Arbor,
Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
“I am excited to ride across the
countiy and really make a differ
ence,” Lauritzen said.
The men are currently training
for this event at least twice a
week. They ride between 20 and
30 miles each day to prepare
themselves so they will be physi
cally ready to handle riding up to
110 miles in a day this summer.
They also run and swim to build
up their stamina.
“As cyclists, our goal is to
raise $5,000 each, but it is about
so much more than money,”
Lauritzen said. “It’s about the
experience of doing something
amazing. It’s about making kids
smile.”
In total, these four students are
planning on raising $17,500 to
add to the total project goal of
$600,000.
Ninety-eight percent of the
proceeds will be used for pro
grams and grants to benefit peo
ple with disabilities and spread
awareness of these programs.
The brothers are still looking
for donations. Later this year, they
will be doing fundraising events
with sororities and with SGA.
“The staff and faculty that we’ve
worked with have responded very
positively,” O’Shea said.
In addition to the 58 cyclists,
there are 12 crew members who
will help out along the trip, as
well as two program managers for
each route who have typically
participated in the race the year
prior to oversee everything.
“It was a huge decision for me
to make. Not because of time but
because I was not sure if I could
physically do it. I thought about
being a crew member, but then
realized I wanted to give 100 per
cent. I want to be a messenger of
hope, which is an amazing possi
bility,” O’Shea said.
The Pi Kapp members’ goal is
to reach people and make them
aware.
“The important thing is for
people to know what we’re doing.
It’s not just about the money but
that every day we are committing
owselves to achieve our goal,”
Scherich said.
Contact Bree Sherry at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
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