They're pretty sure no one at Hopkins could touch Takeru Kobayashi's eating record of 53.5 hot dogs, but the sisters of Phi Mu would like to see just how close some Hopkins students can come. While satisfying this curiosity, they also hope to raise close to $2,000 to help treat sick and injured children around the world.
The two goals may seem unrelated, but for the inaugural Eat-A-Thon on December 7, students can come to Levering food court to munch on Quizno's subs, chips, cookies and soda while watching Hopkins athletes stuff their faces with all the hot dogs, hard boiled eggs and baked goods they can handle.
The money raised from the $5 a person ticket price and a few generous corporate donations will go to the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit alliance of hospitals that gathers funds to treat some 17 million children each year with diseases such as cancer, pediatric AIDS, muscular dystrophy, heart disease, leukemia and asthma.
Each spring, Phi Mu raises close to $2,000 for the Children's Miracle Network through their annual Pasta-Thon, an all-you-can-eat event that includes a full pasta dinner. Still, the sisters weren't content with just one annual philanthropy event.
"We wanted to do a big fall event this year," explains sophomore Maxi Sherman, co-philanthropy chair for Phi Mu. Sherman and sophomore co-chair Rose Zulliger organized the event themselves after discussing the new event with the sorority's Executive Board over a month ago. The idea originally started as an eating contest, but as Zulliger explains, "We wanted people to have an incentive to go other than watching people vomit."
"One of the big things was working with Quizno's," says Zulliger. The national sandwich chain, known for its toasted hoagies, donated enough food to feed 350 people for the event.
In addition, Sodexho, which runs food services on the Homewood campus, donated all the hot dogs and soda for the Eat-A-Thon. The victor of the eating contest will win a free happy hour at Have a Nice Day Caf??.
"Sodexho and Quizno's were very helpful," Sherman says.
The event will run from 6-8 p.m. at Levering food court. Tickets are $5 in advance and at the door.
As Sherman explains, "We're hoping to make it an annual tradition."
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