“Deep Freeze” fundraiser fighting cancer on campus

Members of the fraternity Alpha Chi Rho (AXP), also known as “Crows,” have been collecting money outside of the Integrated Science Center this week as part of their annual “Deep Freeze” fundraiser. Deep Freeze is part of AXP’s fundraising for SUNY Geneseo’s Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. 

According to the Geneseo website, donations are used to fund cancer research, patient support programs, and education on cancer detection and prevention.

Ryan Schlote, a junior business administration major and member of AXP, said that fundraising for Relay for Life has been an AXP tradition for years, despite recent cancellations due to COVID-19.

“It's been going on for a long time, definitely before 2010. I'm not sure if it spreads into the 90s or the 80s, but it's been going on for a really long time,” Schlote said. “It's an annual thing, but ever since I've been in Crows we haven't done it because of COVID and everything. When I joined, we went home for COVID. And ever since then we just haven't been able to do it on campus, so this is my first time doing it.” 

According to Schlote, following relaxing COVID-19 restrictions on campus, the College administration has been receptive to on-campus events like Deep Freeze. 

“I kind of had to reach out to alumni that I knew from the past to see how to run [Deep Freeze] and jump through a bunch of hoops to see how I could rent this space out on campus. Thankfully, the administrative people on campus were very helpful, and they have done stuff like this in the past, so they were able to help me out,” he said.  

Schlote said that the event is usually held in lower temperatures earlier in the spring semester, but that their donation goal had not changed. 

Schlote said, “It might be a little harder to collect donations because we're not sitting in, you know, subzero temperature, but hopefully I've told enough members so they can come out here and really scream for the cause and get people to donate. I think the last time we did it was our lowest fundraising. I think we only got $2,000-$3,000. Normally, we collect from $3,000-$5,000, and we’re trying to hit that again.” 

In past years, the Geneseo Relay for Life has donated over $100,000 with the help of organizations like AXP. According to the Geneseo website, the 2019 Relay for Life, the most recent to be held, raised $150,197. 

This year’s Relay for Life will be held on the Wilson Ice Arena on Saturday, Apr. 30, and Schlote encourages students and organizations to do what they can to support the cause.

“You don't have to be a super genius or anything to raise money,” he said. “All you have to do is show that you care. So, I'll be staying out here all the time just showing that we care.”