Thiel College walk for UPMC Children's Hospital returning through Alle-Kiski Valley
Nov. 29—A Thiel College fraternity's two-day, 100-mile walk benefiting the Free Care Fund at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is back this year and will make its way through the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Current members and alumni of Phi Theta Phi will start the walk from the campus in Greenville, Mercer County, on Friday . They'll make their way to Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeport, where they'll spend the night.
On Saturday, the walk will continue through communities including Harrison, Brackenridge, Tarentum, across the Tarentum Bridge into New Kensington and onto Arnold, where firefighters at Arnold No. 2 will provide lunch.
From Arnold, the group will go through Springdale, Cheswick, Harmar and Oakmont on their way to the hospital in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, where they will "turn over a boatload of coins," said Rachel Petrucelli, president of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation.
While other schools and colleges across Western Pennsylvania raise money for the fund, most often through dance marathons, the fraternity's walk is unique in its form, distance and longevity, Petrucelli said.
The fraternity is among the fund's top 10 or 15 donor organizations.
"It's a huge source of funds for our Free Care Fund," Petrucelli said. "More importantly, it's the spirit of the way they do their fundraising that invites a whole community across a hundred miles and unites several communities to give back and help kids and their families in need. That spirit of giving, we all need it more than ever."
Phi Theta Phi started the walk in 1968. It was not held last year because of the covid pandemic. In its place, the fraternity did a 100-mile walk around the college's track and collected donations from Greenville residents, according to Jamir Mitchell, 21, of Geneva, Ohio, publicity chair for the fraternity.
A social fraternity, Phi Theta Phi is local to Thiel. It has about 20 active members, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said they hope to raise at least $20,000 this year.
Been walking for 50-plus years
On its 50th anniversary in 2018, the walk raised a total of $52,000, boosted by an alumnus who offered $25,000 if the fraternity raised that much on its own.
Alle-Kiski Valley residents will be able to help by giving to the walkers as they pass through their communities and stand at intersections.
Mitchell, a senior at Thiel, said the walk is exciting.
"I hadn't done anything like that before. When we first started, I was really eager to go. I got tired because it's a really long walk," he said. "It's interesting walking through these different towns getting to know my brothers and alumni better and seeing how people react when we walk through."
The Free Care Fund seeks community support to help ensure the hospital's commitment to providing for children's medical costs regardless of their family's ability to pay or lack of insurance, Petrucelli said. The fund benefits those who live within a 250-mile radius of the hospital.
Typically, about $1.8 million to $2 million is donated to the fund annually, going toward the $15 million to $20 million in free and uncompensated care the hospital gives each year, she said.
Like Phi Theta Phi's walk, the pandemic hampered fundraising efforts last year, when $1.5 million was given.
"Many fundraisers were affected through the pandemic," Petrucelli said. "It's amazing how innovative and committed our partners are that they find a way to continue to go out and advocate on behalf of children and seek support in ways that can overcome the restrictions brought on by the pandemic."
Petrucelli said she is in awe of Phi Theta Phi's dedication.
"What the brothers and Thiel are doing in this tradition of more than 50 years, of passing that along from generation to generation, is phenomenal, and we can't be more grateful for their continuing support," she said.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .
