Who: the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp)

What: spotted making snow angels

When: during the peak of winter

Where: the Oreo, Villanova University

Why: Why? Well, here's why.

Imagine walking across campus on a cold winter day. Now imagine running into a group of guys in attire ranging from minimal to full body coverage (a blue morphsuit to be exact). While this is a hypothetical situation for most of you, I was actually fortunate enough to experience this first hand. My initial reaction was "#classic... frat boys doing frat things." Little did I know that there was an amazing meaning behind it all...

All Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters "are encouraged to raise funds to donate to their local charities through events and awareness programs" (thank you Wikipedia). The chapter of SigEp at Villanova University focuses on raising funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research through Andrew's Army and The Drew Fund, in memory of their fellow brothers Andrew Accardi and Drew O'Donoghue. 

The ACC Snow Angels Challenge. ACC stands for Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma, adrenal cancer for short, and this challenge was created to help raise awareness in honor of "SigEp's [our] angel Drew O'Donoghue." To see the starting video for this challenge, click here. 

Understanding the purpose of the situation I happened to come across that day, I now see that it was for a cause that goes beyond words. After having the pleasure of speaking with the philanthropy chair, Alex Gillett, I found it to be evident that the brothers of SigEp so passionately hold philanthropy near and dear to their hearts. Gillett states, "Ever since I joined SigEp, the chapter has always prided itself in service and giving back. But after the passing of Andrew and Drew, philanthropy took on a more special meaning for all of us. As a chapter, it became our mission to make Andrew’s Army and The Drew O’Donoghue Fund bigger than we could even think possible. We are hoping that the ACC Snow Angel Challenge will raise awareness for adrenal cancer and the Drew Fund, not only throughout Villanova’s campus, but quite possibly the country." So...

Why: to start an amazing movement

Hearing the story behind this has really touched my heart, and like Gillett, I am hoping this challenge goes viral. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll even get to see Father Peter make a snow angel! As the groundhog said, there will be 6 more weeks of winter and hopefully during that time, mother nature will allow for some snow! If not, it is still important that we continue to spread awareness and help by donating to The Drew O'Donoghue Fund. If you would like to donate to the cause, you can go to: http://www.thedrewodonoghuefund.org/

"The sky is the limit for something like this and we’re just excited to see where it will go."- Alex Gillett

Igniting change, one step at a time- RKIM