University of Evansville fraternity giving all Fall Festival booth proceeds to Chemo Buddies

EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - University of Evansville fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon is donating all the money it makes at its Fall Festival booth to help those fighting cancer in the Tri-State.

“People see Greek letters and they get a bad taste in their mouth," SAE fraternity member and Fall Festival Chair Austin Hopf said.

But these brothers are changing that - while changing lives.

SAE fraternity is supporting Chemo Buddies to make sure no one fights cancer alone.

University of Evansville's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is donating all of their proceeds... — University of Evansville's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is donating all of their proceeds from their Fall Festival booth to Tri-State non-profit, Chemo Buddies. Austin Hopf, SAE member and Fall Festival Chair, stands next to Jill Kincaid, Co-Founder of Chemo Buddies, who's mission is to make sure no one goes through chemotherapy alone.

“SAE always had a philanthropy a national philanthropy but then we decided we wanted to do something a little bit closer to home,” Hopf said.

One of their brothers, Torrin Madden's mother, Kristine, fought breast cancer alongside her Chemo Buddies before passing away in 2016.

Torrin Madden and his mother, Kristine Madden, at his high school graduation in 2014. Kristine... — Torrin Madden and his mother, Kristine Madden, at his high school graduation in 2014. Kristine battled breast cancer and passed away in 2016.(provided)

“So when Torrin talked about Chemo Buddies a lot of guys got behind it and they decided that we would make this our philanthropy," Hopf explained.

Chemo Buddies volunteers bring goodies, blankets, and hugs to every chemo-infusion center across the Tri-State. They serve as a constant friendly face for cancer patients, many of whom take on treatments alone.

“He [Torrin] wasn’t able to be with her during chemo treatments so he always felt bad about it. But she told him that Chemo Buddies was on the task," Hopf said.

Torrin graduated last year but the brothers still carry on the legacy he started in 2016.

“Oh you’re currently a student? And you’re in charge? how do you have time?,” Chemo Buddies' Co-Founder Jill Kincaid laughingly said to Hopf.

Kincaid said it’s community support like this that keeps their efforts going, as they are a 100% community funded non-profit.

“There’s no amount of gratitude that I can express in appreciation for what you guys do," Jill said to Hopf, referring to SAE’s generosity.

“Things like this keep us in business and able to do what we do for about 213 chemo patients everyday,” Jill went on to say.

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