Phi Kappa Psi’s San Diego State chapter has broken the record for most money raised by a Greek organization on campus.
In their breast cancer philanthropy event in October, the fraternity raised $32,053.97 dollars with 100% of the proceeds going to the Keep a Breast Foundation, according to Philanthropy Chair and marketing senior Jeff Peroutka.
The idea for this event was something Peroutka said he had envisioned for a long time, and that he was super happy to do it before he graduated. The event’s focus on breast cancer hits home for Peroutka and other members of the fraternity who had been personally affected by the disease.
“It was kind of an issue that was really resonating with me and with a lot of people in the house,” Peroutka said. “I mean, Breast Cancer Awareness Month was such a big month and kind of what we really wanted to do was we wanted to make a huge statement at SDSU, kind of for Greek life as a whole, and say this is what’s possible.”
The fraternity began the fundraiser on Oct. 1 by selling shirts and bracelets promoting breast cancer awareness and reaching out to various businesses for sponsorship. Business management sophomore and Phi Kappa Psi member Evan Ferguson helped with the organizational aspects of the event.
Phi Kappa Psi also involved sororities to raise more money. They made it a challenge among the sororities to raise the most money, whoever did would have early access to their Oct. 11 event.
In the end, the chapter was able to pull through and exceed its fundraising goal.
“Our goal was $25,000 and everyone laughed at that,” Chapter President Max Kyle said, “and we destroyed that.”
Peroutka said he hopes this event inspires others to follow.
“I hope that other houses at SDSU continue to raise the standard and try to raise a lot of money,” he said. “I hope that there’s a lot of positive light shined on the entire Greek system as a whole for years to come.”
