East Carolina ATO raises money and awareness for Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America with two events
Oct 30, 2013
Tyler Holmes’ older brother Jeff has Crohn’s disease, a chronic disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract.
His brother’s condition inspired Alpha Tau Omega, Tyler Holmes’ fraternity, to have a Cookout for Crohn’s with Sigma Phi Epsilon last Tuesday, according to ATO’s president Ethan Douglas. They are also holding an EggerATOr event this Wednesday with the proceeds going to a local chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.
Holmes said the events are important “just to help out with research and find possible cures.”
The disease can be difficult to diagnose, but once diagnosed its can be controlled, according to Holmes.
“It’s just figuring out what’s wrong that’s difficult,” said Holmes. “Once you have it, it’s manageable with medicine. It can flare up but it’s not debilitating. It’s just like having stomach problems all the time.”
The decision for ATO to raise money for Crohn’s research occurred when plans to work with another charity fell through.
“We used to do philanthropy with a local cancer fund around here in Greenville and last year we tried to get in touch with them and they never responded to us,” Holmes said. “We just started coming up with ideas for different ones and we went with [Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America].”
Clay Schools, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said that he thinks the Cookout for Crohn’s went well.
“I thought it was very successful,” said Schools. “We had a great turnout and got a lot of support from the community.”
According to Douglas, they raised $3500 for the foundation.
“That all went to CCFA,” said Douglas. “It goes towards research.”
The cookout was open to anyone who wanted to attend, and it had two pigs, as well as hushpuppies and hamburgers.
“You could be Greek or non-Greek,” said Douglas. “We had some faculty there.”
Schools said he was pleased with the amount of people at the cookout.
“We appreciate that everyone came out to support us and support the Crohns and Colitis foundation,” said Schools.
Holmes told Jeff about the event and the money they raised.
“He thought it was great idea especially when I told him how much we raised this week,” said Tyler Holmes.
Schools was glad to hear about Jeff Holmes’ reaction.
“I think that’s really cool,” said Schools. “It makes it more personal for us the fact that we can directly help someone. People are appreciative and when we can see that firsthand, we get a lot of satisfaction.”
The event was also a departure from the regular philanthropy that Sigma Phi Epsilon is involved with.
“This was something new, something different, it was a chance to give back to a different organization and expand our horizons in terms of who we give back to,” Schools said.
Beside the Cookout for Crohn’s, Alpha Tau Omega will also have their third annual EggerATOr event at the Mendenhall Brickyard on Wednesday with the proceeds from that event also going the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America.
According to Douglas, participants pay $1 for two eggs and can then pelt members of ATO that stand on a chicken wire enclosed stage.
“You just get pelted by eggs,” said Douglas. “It’s just a fun thing for campus really. You just make a big mess.”
Besides the money being donated to CCFA, Douglas listed some other incentives to throwing an egg.
“Maybe if you’re angry you can throw an egg,” Douglas said. “If you don’t like Greek life, you can throw an egg.”
*Original article credited to The East Carolinian: http://go.ato.org/1iuTyre