Firefighter’s Challenge supports HCMC burn patients
Raising money and awareness for burn victims at the Hennepin County Medical Center Burn Center is the goal of the week-long philanthropy, Firefighter’s Challenge, sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Beta Chi chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) fraternity.
The annual philanthropy engages participating sororities in competition throughout the week, which began Monday, April 15. PIKE partners with the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD), the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and the Hennepin Health Foundation (HHF) to run the events.
U of M President Eric Kaler will kick off the final event, Field Day, which takes place Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. at the Bierman Athletic Building, 516 15th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. Participants will compete with each other on various “challenges” like “Benjamin Franklin’s Bucket Brigade” where teams must transfer water from one bucket to another (using only the equipment provided); a tug of war, “Save the PIKE” game and other fantastic feats.
Joining Kaler will be: Dr. Jon Pryor, HCMC CEO; Suzanne Begin, HHF president; Tom Pint, HCMC Burn Unit Director; Jane Lieberman, HHF Event and Social Media Manager; and members of the MFD.
During the week, sororities competed in a spirit day, a blood drive, and a karaoke night sponsored by Toppers Pizza. This year, the week was preceded by three percentage nights at Noodles & Co. in Stadium Village.
A full schedule of events can be found here.
PIKE intends to continue to partner with these organizations in the years to come to continually host its two major philanthropies – the Fire Truck Pull in the fall and the Firefighter’s Challenge in the spring.
Related Links
- Pi Kappa Alpha Firefighter’s Challenge: http://pikappaalpha-betachi.celect.org/firefighters-challenge
- Office for Fraternity and Sorority Life: http://www.fsl.umn.edu/
The Burn Center at Hennepin County Medical Center
Serving Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for more than 30 years, HCMC’s Burn Center is one of 57 centers across the country designated by the American Burn Association as Verified Burn Centers. Comprised of an 17-bed inpatient unit and the Acute Burn and Wound Clinic, the Burn Center occupies a 16,000-square-foot space on HCMC’s downtown Minneapolis campus. The highly trained, multidisciplinary Burn Center team works closely with patients and families in a supportive, state-of-the-art environment to meet their unique needs and achieve the highest level of functioning. Treating an average of 10 inpatients per day and 20+ patients per day in the clinic, HCMC’s Burn Center is one of the busiest centers in the nation.
