Delta Kappa Epsilon on the Quadrangle Fundraising for Autism Dreams.
ANDREWMANNION/THE QUADRANGLE
By Emmanouel Sofillas, Assistant Sports Editor
In a demonstration of solidarity and compassion, the brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) at Manhattan College organized a fundraiser dedicated to raising awareness and funds for Autism Dreams. The inspiration behind this event stemmed from a personal connection, as one of the fraternity members has a sibling with autism.
The event, held on Jaspers Wellness Day, went beyond just raising money. It turned into a lively celebration of including everyone and understanding each other. With a table full of sweets and an exciting atmosphere all around, the event became a symbol of hope for people and families dealing with autism.
Anthony Behpour, whose brother has autism, served as the catalyst for the fundraiser and spoke about the importance of raising awareness.
“The fundraising was for Autism Dreams, which is a charity that was started about four years ago by my mom,” Behpour said. “We used to raise a lot of money for Autism Speaks because my brother has autism, and then we were raising so much money we decided to start our own [charity]. We raise money for children with autism that aren’t able to afford extracurricular activities like camp, horseback riding, swimming, things like that, because that’s what would help my brother.”
The fundraiser was able to raise a total of $280 to contribute towards autism awareness. The fundraising event left an impact on the fraternity, allowing for memorable moments.
“The most memorable moment has got to be when my brother showed up,” Behpour said. “He’s 17 now and he’s just one of the most talkative people you’ll ever meet. He loves schools and buildings, so he was just walking around saying hi to everyone.”
Brendan Byrne, a member of DKE who helped at the fundraiser, also shared his most memorable moment of the event.
“Just getting people in and being able to tell them that it’s for a good cause,” Byrne said. “For example, there were two people that came up to us and were like, ‘what is this for?’ and being able to explain that we’re not just a table sitting here, and that it’s going to a very good foundation.”
Sean Mannion, another member of DKE who helped at the fundraiser, shared why philanthropy was important to him and the fraternity.
“I feel like as a group, we love giving back,” Mannion said. “Especially because it just feels good to give back to people. So whenever we’re able to give back to people that are a little less fortunate than us, being able to help them out always brings a smile to me and a lot of people, and that’s why we constantly always do it.”
Jake Steinweiss, the president of DKE, shared the fraternity’s goals for the event and described how everything fell into place.
“Whenever we’re presented with any sort of philanthropy event, we tend to just want to raise money for it,” Steinweiss said. “So just like any other event, we wanted to raise money, and we did so. Our goal was a bake sale for this event with cookies, and donuts and sold them on the quad and all proceeds went to autism awareness.”
The fraternity also discussed future philanthropic events that they plan to host for various causes next semester.
“We have the breast cancer walk in October, the buddy walk for down syndrome,” Steinweiss said. “We’re going to do a lifting competition at the Manhattan Fitness Center for men’s mental health, so there’s a lot planned for the upcoming semester and those are a lot of fun events for a good cause.”
The success of “Autism Dreams” shows how even small fundraisers can make a big difference by raising awareness and promoting inclusion. As they keep working to help others and speak up for important causes, the brothers of DKE show how kindness and community involvement can make a change.