The brothers of Chi Phi and Theta Chi at Rensselaer partnered with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation this spring to raise money to research cures for childhood cancers. All of the money raised supports the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has granted more than $200 million to find cures for kids with cancer.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-powered charity known for its head-shaving events. “While these events are a lot of fun, the real goal is to raise money to fund research that saves kids’ lives,” said Matthew Feid, a brother of Chi Phi and one of the three main organizers of the event.
On April 8, Chi Phi and Theta Chi co-hosted a St. Baldrick’s Fundraising event in the Student Union Games Room. At the event, volunteers had their heads shaved to show support for kids who have been battling cancer.
“We also collected donations for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation at the event,” said Peter Puleo, a brother of Theta Chi and another of the main organizers. “Twelve fraternities and sororities from RPI participated by creating a team under the events page for their Greek organizations and raised money for their teams.”
According to Feid, because the event was held on Accepted Students Day, fraternity and sorority members were allowed to wear their letters to represent their Greek organizations.
“As an RPI community, we raised over $22,000 and had over 50 people shave their heads in support of those who have had cancer,” said Nathan Rosengrant, a brother of Chi Phi and one of the event’s organizers.
The fraternities plan to make this an annual event for Accepted Students Day.