“I can’t believe I feel this good. I feel like a million dollars right now,” said Alpha Epsilon Pi’s Chris Genovese in his 50th consecutive hour of ‘rocking.’
In AEPi’s inaugural “Rockathon,” benefitting the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, Genovese sat in a rocking chair on the Foote Green outside of Richter Library for a whopping 55 hours without a break. He sat from 11:17pm on Thursday, April 3 to 6:17pm on Saturday, April 5.
For Genovese, the cause is personal. His grandfather, Ronald Lenzo, lost his life to blood cancer. “His birthday was the 17th of June, so ‘getting up’ at 6:17 is symbolic of him and his legacy,” Genovese said.
Genovese declined to comment on the toll that 55 consecutive hours of sitting took on his body. “I’ve got the best team of people supporting me, mentally, physically, emotionally … with food, water and company,” he said.
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a non-profit organization that facilitates blood stem cell and bone marrow transplants for patients battling blood cancer. UM’s Gift of Life ambassadors were on-site at Rockathon on Thursday and Friday, swabbing almost 300 students and faculty. Those swabbed will enter the registry and become eligible to donate these life-saving cells if and when they ‘match’ with a blood cancer patient.
AEPi’s first-ever Rockathon raised over $53,000 for Gift of Life.
The more than two-day fundraiser featured a plethora of activities that kept energy high, including a petting zoo, food vendors, performances by UM club dance teams and student bands, a body-building competition and a yoga class.
“We’re changing the culture around frat philanthropy [at UM]. A lot of fraternities just do it to ‘check a box.’ We’re making it something more meaningful than that,” said Jordan Katz, a sophomore majoring in biology and serving as AEPI’s Co-Chair of Philanthropy.
