Jon Plaut is always thinking with a sports kind of mind.

So it comes as no surprise that Plaut’s fraternity is teaming up with the Syracuse Crunch ice hockey team to put the fun in fundraiser and raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

‘We haven’t had a philanthropy of this magnitude, and I wanted to make a difference in a big way,’ said Plaut, a junior sports management major and member of the Theta Chi fraternity at Syracuse University.

For just $12 a ticket, students can see the Crunch take on the Worcester Sharks on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Oncenter. Buses will leave Schine Student Center to go to the Oncenter starting at 6:30 p.m. in 30-minute intervals until 10 p.m. Theta Chi’s goal is to sell at least 200 tickets.

A total of $3 of the ticket sales will go toward the MDA, and autographed Crunch memorabilia will be raffled during the game to raise as much money as possible. A check for the MDA will be presented on the ice.

After searching for local organizations to help out, Theta Chi chose the MDA because the organization has an office in Syracuse. The fraternity tried to think outside of the box of typical greek life fundraisers, Plaut said.

Plaut was the mastermind behind the event. With this fundraiser, he said he hopes to dispel the misconception that fraternities are only about partying. Most importantly, he wanted an exciting way to bring people together for a good cause.

The Crunch is excited to work with SU, especially for such a charitable event.

‘We thought Theta Chi’s idea was a great one, and we’re excited to team up with them in support of such a good cause,’ said Maggie Walters, the Crunch’s director of marketing and communications.

The Crunch hockey team enjoys collaborating on events with SU and seizes any opportunity to draw a large crowd of students to their games. Events like this will show students what an affordable and easily accessible entertainment option Crunch games are, Walters said.

The players shared in the excitement. Rick Schofield, the Crunch’s center, said the team loves playing in front of fans in their age range.

‘You can really feed off the energy they bring,’ Schofield said.

Crunch is ready to use its pro athlete status to raise awareness for muscular dystrophy, aiming to make this event as charitable as possible.

‘It makes you feel better when you can help the community and raise money for a good cause,’ Schofield said. ‘You appreciate having the ability to help others.’

bihumper@syr.edu

Published on February 20, 2012 at 12:00 pm