Christopher Newport University Junior Cycles 4,000 Miles
to Raise Funds for Persons with Disabilities
News Release - August 30, 2004
contact:
Denise Waters
dwaters@cnu.edu
757-594-7331
Each year the Journey of Hope team kicks off from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and arrives in Washington, D.C. 64 days later. To commemorate the 100 th Anniversary of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, Christopher Newport University Junior Michael Combs and his fraternity brothers recently ended their 4,000-mile cycling journey in Charleston, SC, the birthplace of Pi Kappa Phi.
This year's Journey of Hope team traveled to 24 states and 120 cities carrying their message of acceptance, understanding, and love for people with disabilities. Friendship visits and activities were scheduled along the way, in which the men of Phi Kappa Phi played wheelchair basketball, ice hockey, baseball, horseback riding, bowling, and a host of other activities. In addition, team members held puppet shows for elementary school children to promote understanding and awareness of persons with disabilities. "Empathy, not sympathy" is the message the team spread.
Combs, a journalism and arts administration major at CNU, was a member of the South Team. Each team member was responsible for raising $5,000 on behalf of disabled persons in order to participate in the ride. Journey of Hope team members raised more than $400,000.
Push America a non-profit organization, was founded in 1977 and remains the exclusive philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi with the purpose of instilling lifelong service in fraternity members and serving people with disabilities. For more information on Push America and the Journey of Hope , please visit http://www.pushamerica.org/News_Detail.asp?News_ID=59.