Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX), a men’s Christian-based fraternity, raised more than $1,000 Saturday to benefit their charity.
The fraternity formed at Mississippi State University five years ago and Saturday they celebrated their anniversary by hosting a 5K to benefit their philanthropy Invisible Children.
Invisible Children is an organization that seeks to free children soldiers from rebel leaders in countries in central Africa. BYX Chaplin Will Bowen said civil unrest is prominent in these countries and the children are often kidnapped and used as soldiers to fight for the different leaders.
“We are all very passionate for the cause of Invisible Children and we are excited about being able to help them in this fight for freedom for the children of central Africa,” he said.
BYX vice president Lee Barkley said the group chose a 5K to accomplish two things at once: celebrate five years of BYX [and] because of the opportunity it presented to promote Invisible Children.
“It worked out to be a good idea because any other type of event wouldn’t have allowed us to raise some money for Invisible Children at the same time,” he said.
The 5K was held at the MSU Research Park last Saturday. Bowen said the turnout included a wide variety of people the fraternity may have never been able to reach out to otherwise.
“There were around 100 in attendance at the event including workers, spectators and runners,” he said. “Everyone seemed to enjoy the event and we are looking forward to doing more events like this in the future.”
According to Bowen, where they differentiate themselves is at their core.
“Ever aspect of our fraternity is centered around Jesus Christ,” he said. “Everything from our socials, parties and rituals is centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are constantly holding each other accountable to maintaining the gospel as the center of our lives.”
Barkley said having the common bond of Jesus Christ allows for a deep level of brotherhood and an opportunity to constantly better each other.
Phillip Van Zandt, a senior BYX member, said he chose BYX over other fraternities because he felt quality was more important that quantity.
“The pledges have to interview all the actives, which is typically around 40 guys in their pledge semester,” he said. “Even though we don’t have a house, there are always guys to hang out with and things to do.”
Van Zandt said one of the most important aspects that he loves about BYX is the accountability factor.
“It not only builds tighter bonds between guys but also builds maturity that translates into the real world, whether its with co-workers or anyone else you come in contact with,” he said. “We are just a group of men who elected to join a fraternity that centers around our Christian faith,” he said.
Barkley said the race was symbolic and special to the chapter.
“We’re very excited to reach this milestone for our young fraternity, and the ability to use this occasion to celebrate and do some good for Invisible Children meant a lot to us,” he said. “We are grateful for how Christ has used our fraternity in the past five years at Mississippi State and very excited about what the next five years will hold as well.”
BYX 5K