Kathy Logan
News
From last Wednesday at 10am until Thursday at 10am the next day, Phi Kappa Sigma (also known as “the Phi Kaps”), hosted their biannual Bike-A-Thon. The Bike-A-Thon is a 24-hour-long fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). This Bike-A-Thon runs once a semester. To learn about what goes into planning the Bike-A-Thon and how it is run, Phi Kap Aidan Nadell ’25 was interviewed about this last Bike-A-Thon.
First Nadell was asked why the Phi Kaps decided to support this fundraiser and do so with a Bike-A-Thon. He answered that they enjoy the event because “it is a staple in our culture as an organization as well as our campus. Love us or hate us, you know about Bike-A-Thon within a semester of being a student here.”
When asked how the Phi Kaps plan for this event and who is in charge of planning it, Nadell happily expressed that, as the Philanthropy chair, he was in charge of the event and has been since 2023. On why the Phi Kaps decided to do an event for LLS, Nadel answered, “Phi Kappa Sigma as a[n] [inter]national organization has been an official partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the last several years. It’s not just our chapter that fundraises for LLS; there are chapters everywhere from New Orleans to Texas to Washington and South Carolina with the same goal. The mission of LLS is noble, fundraising billions of dollars every year to advance blood cancer research and treatment.”
Were the Phi Kaps successful in reaching their fundraising goals? “I’d say so!” Nadell said. “We fundraised over $500 from in-person donations alone, and we have more on the way with our online fundraising campaigns.” In previous years, Bike-A-Thon has allowed them to garner national attention. In 2022, they raised $5,000 and was awarded 2nd place for fundraising across all Phi Kappa Sigma Chapters. “For how small our school is compared to other public institutions, that’s not bad at all!”
“In the last several semesters, we have introduced Celebrity Riders to involve familiar faces like President Hannigan, Pedro Looft from Campus Safety, and the Ursinus Bear mascot! We also were sponsored with free food and swag by the local TD Bank branch, the local Wawa, and Marzella’s. We invited other Greek organizations to come and sing karaoke with us, playing guitar and ukulele into the early hours of the morning,” Nadell said.
On how an event like the Bike-A-Thon tied into the fraternity’s principles, Nadell explains that the Phi Kaps have seven core values: Respect, Responsibility, Wisdom, Knowledge, Honor, Trust, and Integrity. These seven core values are, according to Nadell, upheld by the integrity of the brothers to take care of those beyond the Ursinus campus.
Finally, Nadell said his favorite part of the fundraiser is how it “brings us together as an organization. One of the reasons that I joined [the Phi Kaps] was because of the emphasis on philanthropy and fun; this event showed me how to do both at once! It’s such a simple concept that really goes a long way, everyone can appreciate someone biking for 24 hours!” The Phi Kaps will continue to do the Bike-A-Thon for as long as they can to support a good cause!