In 1976, the leaders of Pi Kappa Phi had a great idea. Why should Pi Kappa Phi be satisfied to simply give to an existing charity? Why not create one that would be fueled not only by Pi Kappa Phi donations, but also by Pi Kappa Phi ideas and energy?
About that time a man named Thomas Sayre, an artist and architect, was experimenting with architectural designs that facilitated " therapeutic play" for severely disabled children.
In 1977, a new non-profit service organization had
been founded by Pi Kappa Phi to support the designs. The acronym
P.U.S.H.
then stood for "Play Units for the Severely Handicapped," and
over the next several years, fraternity members from chapters all over the
U.S. raised money to support the placement of "play units" in
facilities in several states. Push became a separate non-profit
organization with a staff separate from that of the fraternity's
Administrative Office.
Just 10 years later, it became obvious that Push had an opportunity to
serve the disabled in ways beyond the "play unit". Push was able
to motivate thousands of collegiate's to exercise their commitment to
service. Push changed it's name to "People Understanding the Severely
Handicapped" and changed it's direction. In 1992 Push changed it's
name one more time to Push America, focusing on the national scope of it's
projects and programs. (The Push in Push America no longer stands for
anything). Today, Push America builds leaders through service.
Since its creation, members of Pi Kappa Phi have raised over $6 million for PUSH America and have volunteered over 2.5 million hours of service. Pi Kappa Phi is the only national fraternity to found its own service project. No one else has anything like PUSH America.