"Tour de Pink" raises $2,500

The fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha raised $2,500 riding stationary bikes last week for breast cancer awareness and is still receiving donations.

The "Tour de Pink" was a three-day long event that began on Oct. 12 in which participants alternated in riding a stationary bicycle located outside Bailey Library.

"We wanted to do something philanthropic," Pi Kappa Alpha President Patrick Cole, 21, said. "We do one or two events every year and thought of this because it's October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so they went hand-in-hand."

The fundraiser was a success as the fraternity sold all of the t-shirts and bracelets they had for sale, in addition to collecting straight donations.

"We got in touch with the Susan G. Komen foundation and they donated 300 bracelets for us to sell," Cole said. "We sold those for $2  a piece and we also had shirts made, which sold out in two hours, at $10 a piece."

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation is the largest breast cancer organization in the country.

The total donation tally has yet to be determined as donations for the event are still coming in a week after its conclusion.

"We had donation forms sent to our families and they're still coming in," Cole said. "So not all checks are accounted for because we're still getting checks. More people are still ordering shirts, too."

The fraternity hoped to ride the stationary bike for 74 total hours from last Wednesday up till the parade on Saturday, but had a setback.

"We intended to ride for 74 hours, but on Friday a big gust of wind took our tent out," Cole said. "We ended up riding about 62 hours, but we still finished on the float."

With the success of the fundraiser, Cole looks forward to similar events in the future.

"It was our first year doing this," he said. "Hopefully there are many more to come."

The "Tour de Pink" closely preceded the fifth annual "In the Pink: Stride for a Cure" breast cancer awareness walk sponsored by the ARC and the Women's Center.