By Abby Rathburn | Staff Writer
Steaming bowls of chili, an inflatable obstacle course and hospital beds racing down the street brought students to The Quad Friday evening for the annual Chili Cookoff and Bed Races (CCOBR) event.
Hosted through a long-standing partnership between Alpha Tau Omega, Chi Omega and Baylor Activities Council, the event sold $10 food, $5 inflatable and $12 combo wristbands to attendees. This gave attendees access to chili tastings, local food vendors such as Shorty’s Pizza and Tres Manos and some on-campus activities.
According to Fort Worth sophomore and BAC Program Manager Gavin Schoffler, all “proceeds then go towards CoHOPE and Make-A-Wish.”
CoHOPE, short for Cradle of H.O.P.E., is the philanthropic cause ATO supports. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing global hunger relief, clean water and education to communities in need. Similarly, Chi O also provides continual support to its philanthropy, Make-A-Wish, which grants life-changing wishes for children battling critical illnesses.
For ATO, CoHOPE carries a deeply personal connection to the chapter.
“It’s an organization that was made from a former ATO’s mom, actually, who passed away in 2016,” Phoenix sophomore Drew Behrens, an ATO member, said. “All the money [raised] is going to fund different mission trips, different service events throughout the community.”
Beyond raising money, CCOBR gave students a fun, easy and approachable way to spark conversations around both causes while they engaged in some of the activities.
Burleson sophomore and bed race participant Jonah Mitchell said a friend in his physics class invited him to participate in the bed race competition, and he quickly jumped at the chance to get involved.
“You get to see Greek life come together, just help out for a really good cause and it brings other people out to campus because it’s something nearby that you can just come and have fun at,” Mitchell said.
Beyond the high-speed bed races, the evening centered around a chili cookoff competition that invited student groups from across campus to put their best recipes to the test.
Attendees sampled different entries while exploring the rest of The Quad, which featured a Southern Reverly photo spot and live music from Ethan Lynch and his band, marking the return of live performances after a couple of years without them.
Looking out across The Quad, Schoffler said the event’s uniqueness is what keeps students coming back.
“It’s not every day that you see four guys pushing a hospital bed down the road and watch somebody fly through an inflatable course,” Schoffler said.
