The Wheelbarrow Push for St. Jude Children’s hospital means a great deal to the members of ATO. It is the main fund raiser that the brothers of Alpha Tau Omega did for the hospital. ATO has raised over $400,000 for St. Jude in the 18 years that they decided to have their annual St. Jude push.

“You just ask people and they give,” said ATO president Matt Regan, a junior who has been an ATO for three years. The goal for the 2004 push was $75,000. When they arrived at ST.Jude on Thursday, they presented officials with a check of $90,000.

ATO has over 80 active members. Over 30 members from the active chapter participated in the March 15-18 pushes. In addition to the traditional push from Martin-to-Memphis route which is approximately 115 miles, ATO also did a push from Paris to Memphis which is approximately 155 miles.

“We decided that if we were going to make it bigger that we needed to expand the route,” Regan said.

“When you look at those who are here, a lot of them live on the route we push on. It lets the communities and the kids see us. It’s good for our fraternity as well as the children that we are working so hard for.”

That $90,000 wasn’t all raised during the week of March 15. ATO does mini-pushes throughout the year, staying around four hours at Wal-Mart in Union City and Martin. ATO members are supposed to raise $250 per person for the push and those who raise $1,500 have their dues paid for them the next semester. ATO is the only fraternity with a name plate on the Wall of Fame at St. Jude children’s hospital.