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Like many fraternities, community service is a main component to their message and to their members. Pi Kappa Phi is no exception. Our philanthropy is called Push
America, which was founded and is completely owned by us. Pi Kappa Phi actually has the distinction of being the only fraternity with its own service project. The
outreach of their chapters comes together to raise money to help people with special needs. Some even take a step further by volunteering their time over the
semester or over the summer to take part in projects done by Push America.
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Executive Director of Pi Kappa Phi in 1976, Durward Owen, came together with Thomas Sayre to found a philanthropy that would instill lifelong service in our
brotherhood and that would serve people with disabilities. Sayre was in the process of building a therapeutic play unit for children with severe disabilities and
Push America was the organization that rose from it. Push originally stood for "Play Units for the Severely Handicapped" but was then changed to "People
Understanding the Severely Handicapped". Today, Push is simply called "Push America" and does not stand for anything. Through funds raised by chapters across the
country and several sponsors, Push America has grown throughout the years. In 1987, a milestone for Push America was set and has changed the way people look at
fraternities.
In 1987, it was a dream for fellow Pi Kappa Phi member, Bruce Rogers, to ride across the country on a bicycle from Oregon to Virginia in the name and mission of Push
America. This trek evolved into the next year with 21 fellow brothers riding across the country for the same reason and touching people with disabilities across the
country. This became Push’s most amazing project, the Journey of Hope. A 4,000-mile bike ride across the country starting at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
to the steps of the Capitol in Washington DC. The money that is raised by the team members all goes back to helping people with disabilities and the team as well.
This past year, Push America celebrated its 15th Anniversary of the Journey of Hope with four different routes this past summer. Their two regular North and South
routes, the 15th Anniversary Ride, which went through the same route that Bruce Rogers rode through 15 years ago and the reunion of the original Journey of Hope team
from 1988.
More national projects blossomed from the Journey of Hope including a two-week bike ride in Florida from Miami to Tallahassee called Gear Up Florida, which was
started in 1999. In 1989, some undergraduates traveled to Holy Angels in Charlotte, NC, for a weekend to build an accessible amenity for their disabled clients,
which eventually became our Give-A-Push weekend. In 1991, Push America expanded the same idea to a week in Clemson, SC at the Clemson Outdoor Lab and called it Push
Camp. Today, Push America offers up to almost eight Give-A-Push weekends and six Push Camps a year, which has saved over millions in hours for labor. This past
summer, Push America expanded this even further to a new summer project entitled Build America, which is a trek to six different camps for people with disabilities
where members of Pi Kappa Phi build projects for them over the summer and spend time with their campers for the week. Several chapters back home have come up with
their own projects in their neighborhood called ACCESS ability in which members go to someone who needs something built for them to make their life more accessible
and Push America funds the money for it.
Undergraduate chapters have continued to establish relationships with local facilities in their area to help spread the message of helping people with disabilities.
Members of Pi Kappa Phi have raised millions of dollars and donated millions of hours to help serve the mission of Push America. This is the only beginning though.
There are many new projects on the horizon and millions of Americans to expose the mission of Push America and how members of Pi Kappa Phi are bringing that mission
to life everyday.
For more information on Push America, please visit
PushAmerica.org.
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