From November 12-15, 2013, the brothers of the Pennsylvania Iota Chapter of Phi Delta Theta  at the University of Pittsburgh hosted their inaugural Phiathalon, a philanthropic event designed to raise money for their brother Peter Brady.

Phiathalon was a competition-based event designed to promote Greek-wide philanthropy and awareness for their Fraternity brother Peter Brady. During the summer of 2012, Peter Brady was a regular, active college student. He played with the Eden Volleyball Club and had recently finished his freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh. Peter was an ideal student and an active member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. However, due to an injury, he has not been able to return to Pitt. The former volleyball standout is now paralyzed from the chest down after severely injuring his neck diving into a friend’s pool on Memorial Day weekend in 2012. Peter had to be airlifted to ECMC, where he remained for several months. Peter is working hard on his recovery, but some days are better than others. He has trouble sleeping sometimes, and when that happens, the next day is very hard for him. For an athlete who could do almost anything, now even lifting his arm is an exhausting process for him. He is very brave, and has a strong desire to return to school and pick up where he left off. But in order for this to happen, the Brady family needs the best rehabilitation personnel and equipment possible.

The three-day competition consisted of many events in which participants from various student organizations competed for $5,000 raised by the brothers of Phi Delta Theta to be awarded to the victorious organization’s philanthropy of choice. The competitions included ice cooler decoration, banner creation, photo taking contests, restaurant fundraisers and promotional material sales. Over the course of the event, the brothers of Phi Delta Theta were able to reach their goal of $10,000 donated to help offset Peter’s rehabilitation costs, along with the help of local Oakland businesses such as Quaker Steak and Lube, Subway, Five Guys, Breugger’s, Sushi Fuku and Noodles & Company.  At the conclusion of the event, Alpha Delta Pi at the University of Pittsburgh was crowned the first winner of Phiathalon, helping to raise over $1,000 that was contributed to the Peter Brady Healing Fund throughout the event from their organization alone. After being awarded the $5,000 grand prize to be donated to the Ronald McDonald House, Alpha Delta Pi at the University of Pittsburgh graciously donated $1,000 of that money back to the brothers of Phi Delta Theta to be donated to the Peter Brady Healing Fund.

“We are very thankful for all the support from everyone who participated in Phiathalon, and we are very excited to have reached our goal,” said chapter president David Moore. The brothers of Phi Delta Theta at the University of Pittsburgh have received many words of praise for the event and an especially meaningful message from Brother Peter Brady.

“My brothers at the University of Pittsburgh raised enough money for me to to buy an electronic bike that allows me to use my legs. I’ve used it about 10 times now and I’m already feeling changes in my core and legs. It only took a semester as a brother to understand that One Man is No Man,” said Peter Brady.