Photo courtesy of The Ability Experience
He and the other participants traveled as a part of The Journey of Hope, an event through The Ability Experience that raises donations and awareness for people with disabilities. Hruska said he volunteered his summer after learning about the trip at a national Pi Kappa Phi conference.
He worked over 80 days as a support crewmember following the cyclists in a van accompanied by other support vehicles as they rode from San Francisco, CA to Washington, D.C. Hruska said he was the only UI Pi Kappa Phi member to be a part of the trip.
Although Hruska is the first UI Pi Kappa Phi member to volunteer for the charity, he said the fraternity is linked to the non-profit.”Pi Kappa Phi is pretty new to campus, we’ve only been here three years,” he said, “And this summer was the first time that anyone from the university participated in it and that was me.”
“Pi Kappa Phi nationally owns and operates The Ability Experience,” he said. “The Journey of Hope is entirely made up of members of the fraternity across the country. We are the only fraternity in the country to own and operate our own philanthropy.”