This past Friday, the Alpha Phi chapter at Tech hosted “King of Hearts,” a fundraiser event for cardiac care.
The event was a culmination of a week’s worth of activities which included selling Candygrams (in which one buys candy for another person) at the Student Center, a Shakeweight competition and cash wars. The fundraisers were all focused on raising money for cardiac care research and increasing awareness.
King of Hearts is a spin on a beauty pageant, showcasing male contestants with the theme of raising cardiac health awareness. There were three rounds including talents, dancing and pick-up lines and questions and answers about Cardiac Health. While the pageant was free, Alpha Phi hosted a raffle ticket contest in order to raise money. Local businesses also sponsored the event and the raffle gifts.
The contestants were from different fraternities, and the judges were each from different sororities.
King of Hearts was a collaborative effort of both Alpha Phi alumni and businesses.
“This is not a one-man process,” said Christine Hang, a second-year BMED major.
After a whole week of fundraising, the organization raised around $1000. Cardiac Care week began Feb. 14 with the goal to increase awareness about cardiac health in the general population. Events were also held for Alpha Phi chapters from universities across the country as well. Caleb Wahl, a third-year CEE major, was a 2011 participant from Kappa Sigma.
“It was fun,” Wahl said.
“It’s fun and a fundraiser,” said Megumi Takeda, second-year BMED major.
Hang believed that there were many things positive about the pageant, but singled out one thing in particular.
“[It] brought together the Greek system, Athletic Association and Tech student members,” Hang said.
As head of campus events for Alpha Phi, Hang overlooked the organization of Cardiac Care week events. Kurt Scheffrahn, a third-year ME major, was last year’s winner.
“[It was] hilarious…Participating in King of Hearts was a great experience from practicing with a coach to getting on stage,” Scheffrahn said in a video message.
Some of the talents showcased in the competition include athleticism, sing-along, comedy and dancing.
Coaches were Alpha Phi sisters who helped donate money and time to the cause. These coaches helped the contestants learn their dances and songs and helped them through the other competitions. The winner of the competition was Radu Reit, a second-year BMED major and the runner ups were Jon Willig, a fourth-year ME major, and Michael Robinson, BIO ‘10.
Some of the other events included a Shakeweight competition which involved how many times a person could shake a Shakeweight.
Even though the competition was a success, Hang hopes for future growth and development of the event.
“[I hopes] that it can be more successful in future years, bringing people outside of the Greek/Athletic Association as well as more diverse applicants (such as those from various academic departments),” Hang said.