It’s not every day that hitting home runs benefits the American military, but that’s exactly what students and faculty of Saint Leo University accomplished on Sunday night. For three hours, current students and staff, as well as alumni, gathered at the University Softball Stadium in support of veterans, softball, and hot dogs. The event was put together by Saint Leo’s chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, along with assistance from the Saint Leo Recreational Department, as a way to help raise money for an organization Kappa Sigma started back in 2007: The Military Heroes Campaign. Since the campaign’s start, the fraternity has raised over a million dollars nationwide towards the financial and organizational support of veterans across America. With Veteran’s Day right around the corner, this campaign, as well as this event on campus, helped to spread awareness for the holiday and raise hundreds of dollars for the cause in just a few hours on the softball field.
Austin Abbot, a current member of Kappa Sigma on campus and organizer of the home run derby, stated, “we were thrilled with the outcome and overall attendance. We raised well over a grand and look forward to expanding the event in the future.”
Aside from the main attraction of the derby, the evening included a contest between three fraternities and sororities to see who could create the best banner to represent the occasion, a hot dog eating challenge, and hilarious play-by-play announcing by Kappa Sigma alumni.
The events’ organizers were lauded by participants in the derby and those who donated to support the cause. Congratulations were also extended to Saint Leo student John Daly who bested the other 13 contenders in the home run contest.
