Thiel College fraternity creates alternative for annual Children’s Hospital walk

Posted November 11, 2020 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Members of the Thiel College fraternity Phi Theta Phi are collecting donations and have pledged to walk 100 miles in just over 24 hours at the College's track for the organization’s annual Walk-a-thon for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

The annual walk usually takes place in the first week of December. The members walk from Greenville to the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. This year that walk has been postponed until April due to COVID-19 restrictions. Rather than canceling the walk, the organization will walk from 7 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday at Dr. Barry ’70 and Carol (Yeager) Stamm ’71 Track & Field Complex along with the April walk.

“Phi Theta Phi’s Walk-A-Thon has been a staple for the Thiel College community for decades and though COVID-19 posed a threat to cancel it, the show must go on! Walk chairmen Jamir Mitchell ’22 and Jeremy Meyer ’23 and I created a safety plan in conjunction with the College to ensure maximum safety for our brothers and the Thiel Community,” Phi Theta Phi president John Ganiear ’22 said. “I am proud of this organization and of the support we have received from our entire community. It is the generosity of the surrounding community’s residents and alumni that help the children in need that can’t help themselves.”

Phi Theta Phi members and friends started collecting Tuesday and will be collecting again Thursday in and around Greenville.

Donations (with checks made payable to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation) can be mailed to Phi Theta Phi, 75 College Avenue, Greenville, PA 16125.
Make an online donation.

Shifts of brothers will walk from Friday evening to Saturday night with a ceremonial final lap with all the members and supporters beginning at 7:45 p.m.

The fraternity has raised more than $1.8 million for the Hospital’s Free Care Fund since it began an annual 100-mile Walk-a-thon in 1968. In 2019, Phi Theta Phi received the “Leaps and Bounds” Award from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation after the 2018 Walk-a-thon raised $55,884.72. The total was the most a single walk raised in the event’s 50-year history.

Charitable service is an important part of the mission of each fraternity and sorority at Thiel College. Annually, Greek fundraising efforts donate thousands of dollars to charities such as the American Red Cross, Autism Speaks, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, veterans, Adopt-A-Highway and many others.

About the Phi Theta Phi Walk-a-thon

Phi 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 College recognized the fraternity with a Service to Thiel Award.