HomeGraham Erskine
Nova Scotia Alpha - Dalhousie University
My Iron Phi Story
Welcome to My Personal Iron Phi Page
I am an active member of the Nova Scotia Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I heard about the Iron Phi initiative when it was first rolled out and I have proudly supported many of my fellow Brothers on their journeys to becoming Iron Phis, including one of my closest friends, Ernie Chan, who is the 1st Canadian Iron Phi.
Every time I hear someone mention the Iron Phi program, I am continuously reminded about how I have yet to complete that goal in my life, and it inspires me to take on that challenge. However I have struggled for a while trying to figure out what I wanted to do for my athletic challenge. I was looking for a unique event that would require me to devote time and hard work to completing it. While I was at Kleberg Emerging Leaders Institute in August 2012, I was inspired by some of my fellow Phi Delts to try and do an Iron Phi event with some of my Brothers back in Nova Scotia and I came back to Nova Scotia looking for some event that I could do to share the experience of becoming an Iron Phi.
Someone was already thinking about this idea too. One of my Brothers, Daniel McCarthy, approached the Chapter with the idea of doing something very Canadian. A 24 hour curling marathon between two teams. As someone who has curled before, I was on board right away and am extremely excited for this event.
The Iron Phi program is an initiative through Phi Delta Theta that raises money for ALS research and the Phi Delta Theta Foundation. To date, the initiative has raised over $350,000 and is looking to push harder and raise more money every year.
ALS is a very important cause to Phi Delts as its commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig disease, who is an alumnus of Phi Delta Theta. It is an extremely debilitating disease that causes degeneration in the upper and lower body motor neurons, and as the neurons lose function, the muscles weaken and may eventually lose all control over voluntary body movement. Once diagnosed, patients usually do not live longer than 4 years. Currently there is no known cause for ALS aside from hereditary family history, and what treatment is available offers no cure, just relieves symptoms, improves quality of life of patients, and prolongs their life by varying amounts.
This is an important cause to all Phi Delts, and an important cause to me and I am so happy to have this opportunity to both raise money for such an amazing cause, and share the experience of becoming an Iron Phi with my Brothers.
It's going to be a long road, lots of practices, and hard work but its going to be so worth it in the end. If there's anything you can contribute to help me become an Iron Phi and help us find a cure for ALS, it would be so greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much,
Graham Erskine
Bond# 911
Nova Scotia Alpha - Phi Delta Theta
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How Does My Donation Make a Difference?
Your donation towards an Iron Phi athlete equally supports two very important things: Supporting ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) through research and support of ALS families and leadership development for undergraduate members of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
At the end of each year calendar year, the LiveLikeLou Foundation grants dollars raised through Iron Phi to fund its initiatives that support ALS research, scholarships to support the higher education goals of ALS dependents, and summer camp experiences for children who have a parent or grandparent with ALS.
Dollars used for undergraduate leadership development have and continue to help Phi Delta Theta educate more of its undergraduate members as they work to “Become the Greatest Version of Themselves.”
