The Ability Experience
Pi Kappa Phi is the only national fraternity that has created and operates its own Philanthropy. The Ability experience is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that serves people with disabilities. As brothers of Pi Kappa Phi we strive for equality for people of all abilities and emphasize people first language. The values we
The men of Pi Kappa Phi strive to uphold our values of Abilities, Teamwork, Empathy, and Integrity by participating in our philanthropy. The Mission of the Ability Experience is, “We use shared experiences to support people with disabilities and develop the men of Pi Kappa Phi into servant leaders.”
Brothers of Pi Kappa Phi have many opportunities to serve people with disabilities, but the main opportunities are through summer events: Journey of Hope, Gear Up Florida, and Build America.
Journey of Hope is a cross country cycling trip that starts on the west coast of the country and ends in Washington D.C. Along the way the team stops in communities and meets with organizations that serve people with disabilities and helps to spread awareness in each community. The Journey of Hope involves over 110 men of Pi Kappa Phi each summer, cycling on 4,000 miles cross country, and raises more than $620,000 each year.
- Gear Up Florida is a cycling event that goes across the state of Florida while stoping in each of the communities to spread
awareness in each of their communities. Gear Up Florida is just over a two week event cycling more than 800 miles and raises more than $80,000 each year for people with disabilities.
- Build America is a six week team event traveling the country promoting accessible recreation for people with disabilities. From the construction of accessible amenities at camps to wilderness adventures with athletes with disabilities, the Build America team is dedicated to proving true human ability. Throughout the summer, the team will log over 4,000 man hours, save camps and communities $50,000 in labor costs, over $30,000 in materials expenses and impact the lives of thousands of people with disabilities.
The Delta Delta Chapter had five brothers participate in Journey of Hope 2015 and one brother do Gear up Florida 2015. Between these brothers they raised over $27,700 for people with disabilities. During the summer of 2016 we had 5 brothers participate in summer events and this coming summer we have 6 brothers participating in summer events!
