Fraternity
event benefits terminally ill children
By
Angela O’Brien
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
Cal State Long Beach fraternity Phi Kappa Tau (Phi Tau) raised $600 for the
Painted Turtle Camps at their fourth annual Crossphire sorority dodge ball
tournament in the Gold Mine Gym Saturday.
The six teams who participated in the tournament had an entry fee of $100,
raising a total $600 for the fraternity’s local philanthropy, The Painted
Turtle Camp which is part of Hole in the Wall Gangs, a charity founded by actor
and Phi Tau alum Paul Newman. With this money, Phi Tau will pay for a child
to attend the camp.
“
The Painted Turtle Camp is a camp for kids with terminal illnesses,” said
Jason Gammon, Phi Tau Philanthropy Chair. “[The camp] gives them a chance
to get out of the hospital and feel like normal kids for a while.”
“
Just by us donating money, it pays for a kid to go [to the camp] for free,
otherwise most kids wouldn’t be able to afford it,” Gammon said. “[The
$600] would be enough for one and a half [kids to go].”
Five of the seven CSULB Panhellenic sororities and Petra, an all-girl community
service organization, participated in the dodge ball tournament.
“
I think it’s a really fun event for [the girls],” said Caitlin
Roberts, Coordinator of Greek Life at CSULB. “They take it really seriously
and get really intense, but then they’re still nice to each other when
the game is over.
They have a good time.”
At the end of the tournament, Phi Tau honors two teams with a first place game
award and a spirit award.
Delta Gamma sorority won the dodge ball game portion of the event. The spirit
award went to Tri Delta sorority, who accumulated the most points for their
team uniforms, number of participants and team cheer.
“
In the past, there has been just the girls playing showed up,” Gammon
said. “This time we had a lot of other people coming to cheer on [the
girls]. We had guys from other fraternities come to watch.”
Gammon said Phi Tau chose a dodge ball tournament as its philanthropic event
because it is an enjoyable sport where no one gets hurt.
“
We don’t want to have the girls play football or something,” Gammon
said. “We want them to come and have fun.”
The Crossphire tournament consisted of the traditional dodge ball rules and
regulations, Gammon said. There can only be eight team members on the court
at a time and ammunition is eight-inch rubber-coated playground balls.
“
If you’ve seen the movie, then you know the rules,” Gammon said. “You
hit someone, they’re out. If you catch a ball thrown at you, the person
who threw it is out and you get to bring one of your teammates back in.”
Since the movie “Dodgeball,” Phi Tau has incorporated themed uniforms
into the requirements for each team. In the fall, Gammon will start a second
philanthropic event for the fraternity.
“
Next semester I am going to host a benefit concert, which will have local bands
play and will have a five dollar cover charge,” Gammon said. “Every
spring will be Crossphire and every fall will be the concert.”
Phi Tau won five out of six awards at last year’s Greek Awards, including
Sports Cup and President’s Cup.
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