Mitch-APalooza Mitch-APalooza Mitch-APalooza

THE BROTHERS OF ALPHA THETA CHAPTER (University of Maryland) continueto grow support for their philanthropic cause, suicide prevention. The chapter held its first-ever cornhole tournament last spring. Cornhole for a Cause featured 28 teams and held the same weekend as the chapter’s Alpha Gamma Rhodeo. Hundreds of people attended the weekend-long festivities, enjoying cornhole, barbeque, mechanical bull rides, and brotherhood, all while supporting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The previous weekend, the chapter hosted Mitch-aPalooza, an event started in 2015 after losing Brother Gary “Mitch” Gryszkiewicz to suicide July 22, 2014. The annual event is an opportunity for brothers to get together and celebrate his life and his commitment to Alpha Theta Chapter. Mitch’s mother, known to the chapter as Momma Wanda, and younger brother took part in the event. They read private notes from Mitch, educated the brothers on the importance of their bondage, and reminded them to be a helping hand in their communities to help slow down the rate of suicide in America.

Together, Mitch’s family and the chapter took part in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at the University of Maryland. The two-mile walk raised more than $36,000 for suicide prevention in 2023.