Xi-Epsilon Raises $5,000 for 8-Year-Old Fighting Leukemia

On November 20, 2013, the Xi-Epsilon Chapter at Thiel College presented Holly Shaffer, an 8-year-old fighting leukemia, and her family, with a check for more than $5,000 during a celebration dinner. The money was raised by the chapter during their annual See-Saw-A-Thon, which has members ride a see-saw for 72 consecutive hours, the same length of time that a patient must undergo chemotherapy.  The 2013 edition of the event nearly doubled the efforts of the 2012 event, due in part to hosting it during homecoming activities and a live broadcast by local radio station Froggy 100.3FM.
In attendance were the brothers of Kappa Sigma, sisters of the Alpha Xi Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha chapters at Thiel College. Unable to attend were the brothers of Kappa Sigma from both the Omicron-Sigma Chapter at Slippery Rock and Kappa-Theta Chapter at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, both of which attended the event and helped raise money. This year’s event was the most successful in its history, and the brothers hope that next year will be even better.
About See-Saw-A-Thon
The See-Saw-A-Thon began in 1995 while Xi-Epsilon was still a colony. Up until 2005, the chapter raised money through the event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 2005, Brother Dennis White (’02) worked in food services at Thiel College with a woman named MaryJo See. After talking with MaryJo, and telling her about Kappa Sigma and its philanthropic efforts, she proceeded to tell Brother White about her grandson, Andrew Marc See, who passed away from osteosarcoma cancer in his leg on Jan. 5, 2004. After hearing the story about MaryJo’s grandson Andrew, Brother White encouraged the Brothers of the Xi-Epsilon Chapter to begin raising money for a local charity. The brothers of Thiel College partnered with MaryJo and Andrew’s other grandparents and  started the Andrew See Memorial foundation. Each year, one set of Andrew’s grandparents select a local cancer patient, while the other set of grandparents, including MaryJo, help organize the event with the brothers of Xi-Epsilon. This year, Andrew’s grandparents picked 8-year-old Holly Shaffer from Akron, Ohio.