News

Fraternity softball tourney to raise funds

Oct. 15 Beta event to help rape response

By Peter Bissell

Posted on Sept. 29, 2005, at 12:00 a.m.

Beta Theta Pi fraternity will host a charity softball tournament at Lengyel Field on Saturday, Oct. 15, with all proceeds going to Rape Response Services of Bangor.

The tournament, which will include prizes, a free barbecue and live music, was the brainchild of Beta brother Austin Soule, who came up with the idea about a month ago.

“In years past, we’ve gotten a late start in the year to raising money for rape response,” said Soule, a senior new media major. “This will be a fun way to raise money while the weather is still nice.”

“We want to continue our goal of raising awareness and generating revenue for this organization,” said Chris Shinay, Beta’s philanthropy chairman. “We already have a good relationship with them and want to stay active with fundraising every semester.”

The Beta “Sleep Out” is the fraternity’s annual fundraiser for rape response during the spring semester. Many students may recall warming their hands around the enormous bonfire or consuming cup after cup of hot coffee.

“This will be a way for people to help rape response without having to brave the subzero weather,” Soule said.

The tournament will run on a single-elimination format, with five-inning games and up to 11 players per team. Local businesses will donate for first, second and third place, and there will be a free barbeque for all participants.

In addition, the event will feature live music by Upjoint, a funk rock band composed of UMaine jazz musicians who play fun, catchy music and will add to the atmosphere at Lengyel.

The tournament costs $20 per team to enter, and Beta urges anyone who is interested in having fun and supporting the cause to get a team together and enter.

“It’s not a Greek thing. It’s not a UMaine thing. We want to include the greater Orono-Old Town area,” Shinay said. “Our aim is to get the community together to raise awareness about something we know is wrong, while doing it in a fun way.”

“If we can have a day with sports, food, friends and music and raise money that will help a great organization at the same time, everybody wins,” said Soule.

For more information or to enter a team, contact Austin Soule via FirstClass.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.