College Students PROMOTE Organ Donation Awareness
The Fourth Annual Hoopin' It Up for Richie 3 on 3 Charity Basketball Tournament Presented by WINGSTOP was held on Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the Recreational Sports Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. More than $3,000 was raised to support Richie's Spirit Foundation's mission to promote organ donation to people of all ages.
Hosted by the UT Chapter of the fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), teams participated in a double-elimination style competitive tournament. Prior to team play, AEPi Philanthropy Chair, Myles Shaw, welcomed the crowd and stressed the importance of this annual event.
"This tournament enriches the brotherhood aspect of the fraternity through playing basketball and combines with our core goal to support various philanthropic efforts," Shaw said. "Texas AEPi hopes to continue its partnership with Richie's Spirit Foundation for years to come."
To promote organ donation, Donate Life of Texas was on hand to offer participants the opportunity to sign-up for the National Organ Donor Registry. RSF Tournament Directors, Scott Robbins and Bryna Herskowitz, Richie's childhood friend and sister, shared an emotional video montage in memory of Richie and highlighted the importance of organ donation.
"Many people think organ donation is an issue to think about later in life," Ms. Herskowitz said. "The purpose of the tournament is to prove this is not the case. We are helping to spread awareness and educate people about the benefits of organ donation, while also teaching young adults to express their views on organ donation to their families."
Joe Schwartz and Connor Lammert of the UT Men's Basketball Team were on hand to show their support of the event.
The action braked for lunch, provided by Pita Pit, and participants were treated to two special surprise guests, Joe Schwartz and Connor Lammert, from the UT Men's Basketball Team. Joe and Connor signed autographs and cheered on participants. All games were very competitive and the eventual champions took home a prize package provided by Pandora Internet Radio!
Richie's Spirit Foundation would like to thank WINGSTOP, this year's presenting sponsor. The 'Wing Experts' provided a very generous monetary donation as well as t-shirts and coupons to participants.
To the current brothers and alumni of Texas AEPi: thank you for your continued support throughout the years and your dedication to organ donation awareness. A special thank you to all who participated and/or donated in support of the event!
We look forward to another great event next year!