By Janis Siegel, JTNews Correspondent
Alpha Epsilon Pi, or AEPi one of the two Jewish fraternities on the University of Washington campus, will show that it has a heart for philanthropy during its first “Keeping the Beat” charity event to be held on campus from April 6–9.
All of the money from AEPi’s Keeping the Beat will go directly to an Israel-based global nonprofit, Save a Child’s Heart, that provides life-saving cardiac surgery to children with damaged hearts.
Although there will be music, a pie-eating contest, sport competitions, barbeque, and even a “pack-a-car” challenge, 20-year-old Brandon Nudelman, AEPi’s philanthropy chair and a pre-medicine student at the UW, said he is serious about supporting this worthwhile organization.
“This is our first year and it’s a great way to put ourselves on the map and show our philanthropic side,” Nudelman told JTNews. “We wanted it to be a Jewish organization and we also thought that something medical would be a good criterion. We voted as a committee and we thought it was a great organization.”
Save a Child’s Heart was founded in 1995 and spearheaded by Dr. Amram Cohen, an American surgeon who emigrated to Israel in 1992. He was the deputy chief of cardiovascular surgery and the head of pediatric cardiac surgery at the Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel until his death in 2001.
The organization is international in scope and its doctors operate on children around the world, regardless of his or her race, religion, politics, gender, or financial circumstances.
AEPi hopes to raise as much as $5,000 for the charity by charging a $95 entrance fee to be paid by each sorority on “Greek row” that participates. A ticket buys attendees entrance into all of the activities and competitions during the week and all of the money goes directly to Save a Child’s Heart.
“I would hope to see anywhere from 500 to 1,000 people,” said Nudelman. “We’ve invited 10 sororities.”
The kickoff event for the AEPi–Keeping the Beat campaign will begin with a team skills competition relay on Tuesday, April 6, at Denny Field. Participants will earn points in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and Frisbee. The competition ends with a tug of war.
On Wed., April 7, there will be a blood drive from 2–6 p.m. at the AEPi House, located at the corner of 19th Ave. NE and NE 45th St. on campus, in addition to a pie-making and pie-eating contest.
To wrap up the week, on Friday afternoon, April 9, AEPi will sponsor a sorority challenge to see how many “sisters” can fit into a car within one minute.
“We’re still looking for a donation from a car company,” said Nudelman.
On Friday afternoon, AEPi is opening the festivities to the general campus, featuring a $5 barbeque, and live music with Diverse Inverse. They will be selling t-shirts and sweatshirts to raise funds for Save a Child’s Heart as well.
The UW sophomore grew up in Newcastle, Wash., near Seattle, belonged to Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Mercer Island, and attended the Community High School for Jewish Studies every week.
But, he said, it’s all worthwhile for the members of AEPi because, as it says in the fraternity’s mission statement, they are committed to forging lifelong friendships, achieving academic excellence, participating in campus life, and promoting Jewish philanthropy.
“We take pride in being different than other houses, different than the typical ‘frat.’ We like to go out in the community and to be involved, whether it be participating in a Jewish Federation event, or going to the food bank, or participating in AIPAC events,” Nudelman said. “Just helping out the community is something we take pride in.”
AEPi currently has 60 members. The fraternity doesn’t practice or require any level of Jewish observance from its members, he said, but there are many Jewish resources nearby.
“There’s no requirement as to how much you have to be involved, but the opportunity is there for you…to attend Shabbat services or to help in the community,” he said. “We don’t do Shabbat or keep kosher, but there’s Hillel and Chabad in the area.”
As the chair of AEPi’s Philanthropy Committee, he has asked for and received support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle.
“It’s nice to be working with them again,” said Nudelman, who volunteered at some Federation events through high school. “I’ve helped them out in the past and it’s nice that they’re helping us out with this event by helping us sponsor it and also with donations. My job is to promote charities, whether it’s the Federation or the food bank, just helping out in the community and being involved. It’s a great thing to help children in need.”