There aren’t many college students who can say they’ve hung out with Seth Rogen. There are even fewer who can say they’ve done it four times.
Among those lucky few are the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, who, alongside sorority fundraising partner Alpha Chi Omega, have won the national fundraising competition benefitting Rogen’s Hilarity for Charity foundation for the fourth year in a row. Their prize? Earlier this week, students got to spend quality time with Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller Rogen.
The Rogens, who started the foundation together, have a personal connection to the cause; Lauren’s mother was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at just 55 years old. This year, 100 students raised more than $32,000 for the foundation’s efforts to combat Alzheimer’s, the most they’ve ever raised in a given year. In total, Pike and AXO have raised more than $117,000 to the cause since 2013.
UVM’s involvement with Hilarity for Charity was sparked by students John, Griffen and Ryan Fox, triplet Pike brothers who lost their grandfather to Alzheimer’s. Although the brothers graduated in 2016, Pike president Matt Golden ’18 said the fraternity’s commitment to the fundraiser remains strong. “Alzheimer’s affects a lot of people, so it’s easy to get behind it,” says Golden. “The visit from Seth is just an added incentive.”
As part of the grand prize visit, students who raised $150 or more were invited to bowl alongside the Rogens at Champlain Lanes and Games. Seth was then inducted as an honorary member of Pike in a top-secret ceremony, followed by a reception at the UVM Alumni House.
Two of the Fox brothers even took the day off of work and made the long drive from their hometown of Rochester to return to campus for the celebration. “It’s really cool to see that it’s still going,” says Ryan.
Golden says although they’ve already won, they’re not done fundraising; the team is planning a Dunk Gary Derr event for the last week of the semester.
