GREENVILLE, Pa.-- A former patient of Children’s Hospital is leading Phi Theta Phi’s 54th annual Walk-a-Thon, which started on Monday with donation collections in the region. The two-day, 100-mile walk from Greenville to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh begins Friday morning.
Members of the fraternity began collecting donations Monday at Conneaut Lake and continued collecting in Sharon on Tuesday. Donation collections will continue this week in Mercer and Greenville.
Fraternity members, friends, and alumni will collect donations during the walk for the Free Care Fund, which alleviates the financial burden many families face and provides care and treatment to every child regardless of their circumstances. Over the last 53 years, the brothers of the Phi Theta Phi fraternity at Thiel have raised more than $1.8 million for the Free Care Fund.
The President of Phi Theta Phi and the Walk-a-Thon Chairman Jeremy Meyer ’23 knows full well the importance of this fundraiser and the Free Care Fund. Meyer was born with Hepatitis C and was a frequent visitor to Children’s Hospital throughout his childhood. When he was 17 years old, his doctor put him through to the Free Care Fund and he was entered into a study for adolescent teens to receive a potential cure treatment for Hepatitis C. The program was intended to last 12 weeks, but by the end of Week 2, Meyer was cured.
“The Walk-a-Thon is so important to us as a fraternity because some of us have had experiences with the Children’s Hospital during our youth,” Meyer said. “It is an experience that you cannot find anywhere else in the country and to be a part of it is very special. When you think about it, we are just big kids helping the little kids who can’t help themselves.”
Theta Phi began at Thiel College as a local fraternity in 1966. Two years later, the fraternity started a tradition that has become one of the most successful Greek philanthropy efforts in the College’s history. The first Walk-a-thon was in 1968 and raised $1,100. In 2014, Phi Theta Phi was recognized as one of the Top 10 donors to the Fund. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Pennsylvania Senate have cited the chapter for its service, and in 2002, the Association of Fundraising Professionals acknowledged them as an outstanding philanthropic organization. In 2015, the fraternity was recognized for the walk-a-thon with a Service to Thiel Award. They were also recognized by the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital in 2019 for their contributions.
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