On Saturday, April 22, Sigma Pi fraternity and various members of the Indiana University community literally fought the fight against cancer for people that should not have to fight the disease alone.
The philanthropy boxing tournament, “Last Man Standing,” raised money for the American Cancer Society.
John Panos, Aryeh Furman and Ben Myatt began planning the event in January and completed everything from solidifying a venue to making sure all the boxers were practicing each week.
Panos, the former philanthropy chair, helped orchestrate the event after the committee collectively came up with idea. Furman, the additional philanthropy chair, was in charge of recruiting fighters, organizing sponsors and setting up the warehouse, and Myatt was the media, marketing and design chair. Myatt made the promotional video as well as created the website, social media accounts and all the apparel and “Last Man Standing” logo.
This committee worked incredibly hard to build something from scratch.
Failing wasn’t an option for us,” Panos said.
In terms of boxers, many members of the Greek community, male and female, stepped up to help towards the cause.
“We even went as far as giving them personal rides to and from practice if they couldn’t get there,” Panos said.
Over the past four years, Sigma Pi has gone from having no philanthropy, to raising $10,000 with Sigma Pi Smokeout, to beating the all-time fundraising record with the American Cancer Society at IU, to starting the first boxing tournament in Bloomington. The total has still not been finalized because of a few missing variables, however the total is looking upwards of $15,000 at the moment. Panos admitted that one of the most essential parts of planning this philanthropy was cold-calling sponsors for donations to generate more fiscal support.
Delta Sigma Pi’s Patrick Rowe won the men’s division, Chi Omega’s Emily Tomkiewicz won the women’s division and Jeff Pikel won $1,000 to grant to the charity of his choosing. Over 500 people attended the event, and the radio broadcast had over 10,000 individuals tuned in.
When asked what the best part about the philanthropy was, the committee collectively agreed that overall unifying the Greek community for a larger overarching cause was incredibly rewarding. All chapters have their own individual philanthropies, but it is not often that all chapters come together weeks in advance for one individual cause.
“I hope Last Man Standing leaves a lasting legacy for Sigma Pi at Indiana University because it's a one of a kind event in our area that can be continued on for several years to come," Panos said. "As far as it goes for the American Cancer Society, I hope that in the years to come, they can look up to us as a staple event within the Bloomington area where cancer survivors, family and friends can all come together and recognize that it's not about the amount of money that we raise for cancer treatment, but the impact we make on the community as a whole, to recognize that cancer still lives among us and that we need to keep working for a cure until it's gone.”
