Alpha Tau Omega helped ‘rock the cure’ on Saturday to benefit the American Cancer Society.

The second annual ATO Rock-a-Thon started at 7 p.m. and continued until 7 a.m. yesterday, bringing teams of three to five individuals to rock in rocking chairs. Each team had to have at least one member in the rocking chair at all times.

The 12-hour event was a huge success, ATO philanthropy chair Johnnie Lewis said. There were estimated to be 175 to 200 participants, and throughout the night, up to 275 people came to support the cause and the rockers.

‘It seemed this year, a lot more people came out than last year,’ said Devin Conklin, ATO brother. ‘It was good to see so many people coming together for one common cause.’

The cause was chosen last year after much debate over whether ATO should sponsor a worldwide cause such as hunger. Cancer was chosen because it hits closer to home and is something everyone can relate to, Lewis said.

‘We really wanted anyone involved to have fun all night,’ he said. ‘But we needed to remind them what they were there for, so we had slideshows running and we shared our stories.’

To provide a better forum for sharing stories, the ‘community hour’ was new to the Rock-a-Thon this year, said Eric Young, one of the three ATO emcees.

During the hour, the three emcees, Brendan Carroll, Young and Lewis, all shared stories of personal experiences with cancer and how it affected them.

‘It was a chance for people to remember why we were there,’ Young said. ‘It was a very serious and emotional time because we all know someone with cancer, or know someone who knows someone. It really helped people see and feel our cause.’

Lewis said it is important for people to understand this event is more than just a form of Greek philanthropy.

After the community hour, music was reintroduced to the dining center and everyone talked about experiences and started becoming more energetic, an energy that lasted all night, Carroll said.

Random dance parties were scheduled at peak exhaustion hours, trivia questions were asked to grant people a 15-minute rocking pass and prizes were given through a raffle.

All the prizes were donated from area businesses such as Wal-Mart and Kroger, which gave gift cards, and the University Bookstore, which donated an iPod. CD players, hooded sweatshirts and free haircuts were also among the prizes given.

The chairs were an even bigger donation, Lewis said, which came from Cracker Barrels in Findlay and Perrysburg. ATO held a voluntary mini Rock-a-Thon at the Findlay store last week, which brought in donations and helped increase the chair donation to 25 from last year’s 20.

For first-time participants like Tiffany Bennett of Phi Mu sorority, the event was eye-opening and amazing.

‘A few of my sisters did the Rock-a-Thon last year, and when we heard about it, we knew we had to do it again,’ she said.

Lewis said he sees the Rock-a-Thon becoming much bigger in the future because cancer affects everyone. He said even though the BGSU Rock-a-Thon currently consists of college kids rocking, it will someday be bigger and spread to the community.

‘The Rock-a-Thon will be an annual event, even after those who started it have graduated,’ he said. ‘It is a success and will continue to be a success, and I have faith in my fraternity and I believe they will exceed our expectations.’

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