April 19, 2018

SVSU fraternity to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital

Saginaw Valley State University's Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity is hosting a unique fundraiser to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

For every dollar donated, the men of TKE will teeter-totter on large see-saws throughout the night and day in the SVSU Courtyard beginning Thursday, April 19 at noon.

Kyle Baxter, a nursing major from Mayville, is a philanthropy chair for the SVSU chapter of TKE. He knows that this fundraiser has a fun name, but the "Teker-Totters" represents a serious cause.

“Not only are we able to make a pun out of the name of the event, but totters are something that healthy children play on. The goal is to end childhood cancer and allow all kids to be able to play on teeter-totters or any of the other activities that healthy kids are able to do,” he said.

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital is an important charity to the students. A former member of the national chapter of TKE, Danny Thomas, founded the organization. He created the children's hospital under the mantra that, "no child should die in the dawns of their life."

This is the third annual "Teker-Totter" fundraiser at SVSU. Last year the group raised $3,500; they have set this year’s goal at $5,500.

The fundraiser corresponds with all TKE chapters across the nation, with a total goal of raising $7 million.

Along with the teeter-totter activities, there will also be music playing, yard games, "bubble soccer" and movie showings at night.

For more information and to donate to St. Jude's Children's Hospital through SVSU TKE, visit http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/TKE/TKE?pg=entry&fr_id=77558.