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Sigma Nu Charity Bowl to Assist Former Oxford Police Officer
Sigma Nu Charity Bowl was started in 1990 to honor Chucky Mullins, an Ole Miss Football player who was tragically paralyzed the previous season.
Mullins was injured in the 1989 Homecoming game vs. the Vanderbilt Commodores on a play in which he dove head first into fullback Brad Gaines. Mullins was immediately paralyzed due to several shattered vertebrae in his cervical spine.
Every year, Sigma Nu suits up to play another fraternity chapter in the annual Charity Bowl football game in Vaught Hemingway Stadium.
The event also features a sorority cheer competition prior to kickoff as well as a homecoming style court at halftime. Funding is raised for Charity Bowl primarily through Charity Bowl program advertisement sales and financial donations.
In the years since its inception, Charity Bowl has grown to be the largest collegiate philanthropy in the country. Every year, a victim of paralysis is chosen as a recipient. Through the hard work of the active members, as well as the generous donations of chapter alumni and various businesses from across the south, Sigma Nu has been able to accumulate over $1.7 million for its recipients. In recent years, Sigma Nu has also donated over $65,000 to the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson, Mississippi in honor of Olivia Manning.
On March 31, Charity Bowl will celebrate its 27th anniversary at the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex.
The 2016 Charity Bowl recipient is Kevin Orr. Kevin is a former police officer, who worked on duty in the Oxford community for Oxford Police Department.
On May 14, 2008, he had a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. The motorcycle lost control, sending him into a brick wall headfirst. Along with injured wrists and a broken left femur, Kevin was left with severe injuries to his C-1, C-3, and C-7 vertebrae. Also, his C-5 vertebra was completely crushed, severing his spinal cord, as well.
His friends and family were told that he would be lucky to live for a couple of hours; however, he defied those odds. He spent a month in North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Mississippi, before moving to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta for rehab. Here, he was able to begin to live off of a ventilator. Once able, he went back home to Tupelo, where he moved back in with his parents.
Kevin’s goal is to advocate for people with spinal injuries and disabilities. Today, Kevin works with other men and women with disabilities to help them become independent and open their creative side. He does this through his love for painting, mouth painting to be exact. Also, he works for a nonprofit in Tupelo called the Life Office. Everyday, Kevin strives to prove that he will not let this injury drag him down. His motto is to adapt and overcome his situation.
Therefore, Sigma Nu hopes to help Kevin continue to strive towards being the best advocate he can be. Kevin is a leader and inspiration for people with disabilities, because he shows them that their injuries will not set them back.
If you would like to follow Kevin’s story, you can go to his blog at http://www.kevinonwheels.blogspot.com/. Sigma Nu Fraternity looks forward to helping Kevin continue to be an inspiration to those around him.
For any questions regarding Charity Bowl contact: J.D. Maloney at 601-613-1020 or jdmaloney19@gmail.com.
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