A gloomy, wet morning turned into a beautiful 73-degree afternoon as first day of the Pi Kappa Phi bike-a-thon continues on its first of three days at the Purdue belltower.
The 14th Annual David Feltner 72-Hour Memorial Bike-a-Thon kicked off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and will run through 10 a.m., Saturday leading up to the noon kickoff of the homecoming football game. The event is in memory of an undergraduate student who died in 2011 who was committed to serving people with disabilities.
Money from the 72 hours of continuous stationary cycling goes to The Ability Experience, the national outreach effort of the national fraternity.
Shortly before 1 p.m., on Wednesday clients of Life Has No Boundaries, a local non-profit that works with adults with disabilities, arrived at the scene. They brought signs supporting the effort and greeted the more than 20 fraternity members at the site. The clients danced to music, played yard games and supported the riders and table volunteers for nearly an hour.
All 216 man (and woman) slots for cycling – three bikes being ridden for 72 straight hours – are taken by chapter members, associates and friends. Another 150 hours of scheduled time for volunteers at a table explaining what we are doing and taking donations are nearly fully scheduled as well.
The chapter hopes to raise $8,000 over the three days’ effort to bring this year’s total fund-raising to $30,000.
You can support the cause by donating at:
https://give.abilityexperience.org/give/t548518/#!/donation/checkout
Thank you to all those who have supported us in person, by donation or following the efforts on social media.
