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Purdue fraternity lends helping hand, check to LSC

Students in the special needs program at Lafayette Jefferson High School will be able to go on more field trips thanks to a Purdue fraternity.

Pi Kappa Phi is donating more than $3,200 to give the students access to educational programs outside the classroom.

The money is raised annually through its national outreach program, Push America, which assists children with disabilities.

Chris Ruff is the Push chairman for Pi Kappa Phi .

He says the money is important, but it’s the time the brothers give that has the greatest impact.

"Going into the classroom everyday makes the hours that we spend with them and the money we raise totally worth it," he said.  "It almost has more of an impact on us than it does on them."

Special Education teacher Alyssa Montgomery says the money will provide her students with experiences they probably would not have otherwise.

"I would say 98-percent of these kids will never participate in any of those types of activities unless we take them," said Montgomery.  "With budget cuts and other things, there is not a lot of funding out there.  But, since we have the fraternity that's so kind to donate this money to us, we are able to take them to places and do things like that.”

Purdue’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity began working with special needs children at Lafayette Jefferson High School in 2007.

Since then, the brothers have donated more than $16,000.