Pi Kappa Alpha Cycle-a-Thon helps Boys & Girls Club

Pi Kappa Alpha philanthropy co-chairmen, freshmen Bob DeMint and Zach Williams, were pledges a semester ago. The two men now have less than a week to coordinate final details of the fraternity’s annual Cycle-a-Thon, to begin 4:30 p.m. today at the corner of Fee Lane and 10th Street.

But as new as the men are to their philanthropic chair responsibilities, the fraternity is new to this event, too. 

“This is only the second year of our Cycle-a-Thon, so it is a relatively new project not only for Zach and Bob but the chapter as a whole,” said Pi Kappa Alpha president and sophomore AJ Maingot. “Both have been willing to ask questions and take advice from the older brothers about not only the Cycle-a-Thon but their position overall.”

The Cycle-a-Thon lasts 24 hours, with participants riding stationary bicycles in half-hour increments. Though each member of the fraternity is expected to cycle at least once, Pi Kappa Alpha has extended the invitation to include anyone in the greek or IU communities. 

DeMint and Williams are ironing the final details, recruiting people to ride, getting help from sponsors and deciding how many bicycles to have on site. They are expecting 90 to 120 people will cycle for their cause at some point in the day. 

Last year the fraternity raised $1,500 for the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington. Williams and DeMint said they hope to at least match that amount.

“Whatever happens, it’s just definitely good to have something going on,” DeMint said. “When asked to be the philanthropy chair, I knew about the Cycle-a-Thon and that it was our big event. But I like just being able to get out there and get the community motivated and focus on the positive aspect of being in a fraternity.”

Both men said the hardest part is finding people to cycle during the early hours of the morning. Regardless, they said they have been excited by the response, humbled by the support of their brothers and motivated by the cause driving it all.

“The simple fact that groups like Pi Kappa Alpha who continue to come back and support our programming for the Boys & Girls Club are immensely valuable to us,” said Jeff Baldwin, executive director of The Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington. “They understand their gift will change the community.”