In order to honor Taylor Trudeau and his family and to uphold the values of the fraternity, PIKE will be hosting their chapter’s second annual Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life on Friday, April 18 in the cycle room at Half Acre Gymnasium from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Taylor Trudeau was the sergeant at arms for the Gamma Mu chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of New Hampshire. On July 23, 2007, Trudeau was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare form of cancer that targets white blood cells and progresses rapidly. After battling the cancer for just over one year, Trudeau received a second stem cell transplant that concluded unsuccessfully, resulting in Trudeau passing away on August 17, 2008.
“We are all excited to have the opportunity to benefit [from] a really strong organization and help out Leslie Trudeau, Taylor’s mom, as much as possible,” Conor Wetxel, Iota Alpha chapter’s president, said. “I got to meet her last year and she is truly an amazing woman, it is nice to know that we can try to ease her pain through this event.”
Iota Alpha is the university’s chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity (PIKE), which places a major emphasis on philanthropy. Their desire is to promote the welfare of others, demonstrated largely by the generous donation of money to charitable causes.
According to Wetxel, the fraternity intends to continue hosting this fundraiser for years to come to spread awareness and prevent Trudeau’s condition from happening again in the future. Shortly after his death, Trudeau’s family established a strong partnership with PIKE fraternities across the nation to promote awareness for cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and the Trudeau family founded the nonprofit organization, the Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life in 2009, with the organization’s primary objective to raise awareness for blood diseases and fund research that is specifically dedicated to finding a cure for leukemia and other blood cancers.
“When you participate in this you definitely feel like you are contributing a lot and you are excited about what you are doing,” Wetxel said.
2018 marks the ninth year that the Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life was hosted by the PIKE fraternity in the United States, which now includes 129 chapters nationwide contributing to the cause.
Although Iota Alpha was only chartered in the fall of 2016, they hosted their first annual Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life in the spring of 2017, with assistance from Trudeau’s mother who came to the University of Wyoming to assist with the event last year.
The Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life is open to university students, staff and faculty and the entire Laramie community is also encouraged to participate. Those who wish to take part in the fundraiser can contribute to the cause for just $5 for every half hour of cycling.
In addition to the stationary bike marathon, raffles and auctions will be in session in the same location, featuring community donated prizes and PIKE purchased items, including gym towels, tank tops and wristbands. Wetxel said that PIKE members strive to do as much as possible in order to make this event as big as they can while keeping it enjoyable for all people involved.
All proceeds from the cycling, raffles and auctions will be donated to the Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life to fund cancer research and find a cure. Once the money is given to the organization, 90% of proceeds benefit research, according to the nonprofit’s website.
PIKE members and Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life participants raised over $500,000 from all ages nationwide. The majority of the proceeds given to the organization are donated to the funding of cancer research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“We are currently funding Dr. Dean Lee’s phase 1 clinical trial that uses our own bodies natural killer cells to kill cancer cells,” according to the organization’s website.
For additional information regarding the Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life foundation, visit www.taylorcylceforlife.org.
