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Fraternity rolls colorful six-foot ball around campus for charity

September 11, 2014
<p>Packaging senior Benjamin Hesskamp signs Zeta Beta Tau's giant gym ball to raise awareness for Sparrow Hospital and  Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals on Sept. 10, 2014, at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 233 East Grand River Ave. Raymond Williams/The State News</p>

Packaging senior Benjamin Hesskamp signs Zeta Beta Tau's giant gym ball to raise awareness for Sparrow Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals on Sept. 10, 2014, at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 233 East Grand River Ave. Raymond Williams/The State News

Photo by Raymond Williams | The State News

The men of  Zeta Beta Tau fraternity kicked off their philanthropy event Sept. 7 and have been rolling the ball all week to raise awareness and money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is a non-profit organization that fundraises for children’s hospitals across the nation in addition to funding for medical research.

The “Get on the Ball” campaign is a national initiative of all Zeta Beta Tau chapters.

Founding brother and ecology senior Jake Stone said the point of the philanthropic event is to capture attention.

Since ZBT was recently chartered at MSU in 2012, Stone said having the ball on campus for the first time is exciting.

“This is our first time participating in the national philanthropy and our biggest deal,” Stone said.

As the men pushed the ball, people were encouraged to sign it and then approached about donating money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

However, ZBT member and supply chain management sophomore Matt Dumond said while he pushed the ball, more people were skeptical about it instead of intrigued.

“Bikers stop and watch, everyone in their cars were watching,” Dumond said. “We had to convince people it’s free to sign and they don’t have to pay.”

Philanthropy chair and media and information senior Sean Kavanagh said rolling the ball has been a challenge but still a fun experience.

“It’s been challenging because we’ve never done this before and don’t know what to expect,” Kavanagh said. “But it also sets the stage for what’s to come, because next year I think it will be an even bigger event.”

The fraternity also hosted a fundraiser at Potbelly Sandwich Shop on Grand River Avenue on Wednesday night.

Potbelly employee and international relations senior Dylan Bambach said participating in fundraising events helps the restaurant connect to the community.

“We like to have the feeling of a community sandwich shop and doing things like fundraising is a way to bring the community into our shop,” Bambach said.

The ball will finish its roll this coming Saturday and return the following Saturday before the MSU vs. Eastern Michigan football game.

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