AEPi's hot tub raises $2200 for children

It may have lacked James Brown, but Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brothers still found a way to sit in a hot tub for 48 hours and raise money for a good cause last week.

As part of their “Hollywood” weekend, AEPi brothers collected money from people walking past their hot tub on College Green, sold tickets for a trip to Hollywood, California, held a “Hollywood” party, and sold hamburgers and hot dogs during Spring Fling to raise $2200 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, according to AEPi Vice-President Josh Kopelman.

Kopelman said over half the money was raised from the sale of raffle tickets for the trip to California.

The Make-A-Wish foundation is an organization that fulfills the wishes of terminally ill children.

Kopelman said the money raised will be used to benefit children in the West Philadelphia area.

AEPi President David Slotkin said the fraternity’s contribution will be enough to fulfill the wishes of one or two children.

The house plans to follow through on the donation by meeting with the children, he added.

AEPi covered the costs of all aspects of organizing the event through corporate sponsors.

The reason AEPi chose to use a hot tub and Hollywood to raise money was to attract attention to the Make-A-Wish Foundation in a creative and diffrent way, Kopelman said.

College freshman Craig Marmer, an AEPi brother, said he thinks the premise had the desired effect.

“It was a new and innovative way to raise money,” Marmer said.

“It caught people’s attention, and that is what we wanted to do, raise awareness for the Make-A-Wish foundation.” Kopelman added the Hot Tub-A-Thon was successful because “it [the hot tub] brought a smile to people’s faces, and their hands to their pockets.” Disc jockeys from Q102 radio station, Saturday Night Live star Kevin Nealon, and President Sheldon Hackney all visited the hot tub to show support for the fraternity’s effort, Kopelman said.

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