Hello, my name is Jamie Meloni and I am the Push Chairman of Pi Kappa Phi's Beta Beta Chapter. Whether  you are a brother of Pi Kappa Phi or not, this page will allow you to understand what Push America is, and how the brothers of the Beta Beta Chapter strive for its growth and recognition. 

                                          Simply put, Push America is the national outreach project of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Through the combined effort of Pi Kappa Phi brothers across the nation, we provide awarness for people with disabilties, volunteer countless hours for the benefit of the disabled, and organize and execute a wide variety of fund-raisers with all the proceeds going directly to the Push America national office for disbursement to disabled people nationwide 

                                         Push America was founded in 1977 and is ran entirely by the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. The idea for Push America arose in 1976 when brothers of Pi Kappa Phi decided to develop a new charity rather than give to existing charities. A man named Thomas Sayre was developing and producing "play units" for handicapped people nationwide. he used Push, then noted ase P.U.S.H., to stand for play units for the sevely handicapped. Pi Kappa Phi adopted his idea and made it the national philanthropy of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Upon adoption of this philanthropy, P.U.S.H., was changed to stand for People Understanding the Severely Handicapped, but today it is simpled noted as Push. 

                                          Since 1977, the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi nationwide have raised over 3 million dollars to the benefit of handicapped people, and the number is growing rapidly. 

                                         The brothers and I of the Beta Beta Chapter are proud to be the recipients of three Push America awards for the 96-97 school year. These awards are: The Thomas H. Sayre Award for being the chapter to raise the most money per brother - 288.60 per initiated member, The Red Rose Award for doubling our fund-raising total from the previous year, and finally the Bronze Star Award for raising over and above 2500.00 dollars. 

                                         This year my chapter and I have set a fund-raising goal of no less than 3000.00 dollars. Our most successful fund-raiser will be the platform sit. Each year on the third weekend in March, we set up a platform and each brother is required to sit a minimum of three hours on the platform and he must raise twenty dollars per hour sat.  The brothers who choose to sit the duration of the event, without getting off (except to use the bathroom), are required to raise a minimum of 250.00 dollars. We kick off the event with local bands and invite the entire campus to attend. On the last day, we hold sorority contests to help promote empathy training for the disabled as well. Last year as an associate member, I sat the entire 50 hours on the platform and all I and the three other 50 hour sitters started with was a recliner. By the end of the sit, we had refrigerators, a TV with a VCR, stereos, and a wide variety of other great gifts provided to us by sorority sisters. It is a great fund-raiser and an excellent tool to provide campus awarness for Push America. 

                                         We also incorporate a Miss-A-Meal fund-raiser where we get the boarding students to miss one dinner, and the school compensates us against the average number of people that usually attend dinner that day. Last year we made nearly 1000.00 dollars from the event. 

                                         This year will be an exciting year for us at the Beta Beta Chapter with Push America. I look forward to serving as Push Chairman and wish the best of luck to all the other chapters nationwide.