DPS and Alpha Phi Omega pedal together for charity

The Department of Public Safety confiscates abandoned bikes on campus — and with help from Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity, those bikes end up benefiting students and local charities.

The two organizations worked with UNC Transportation & Parking to auction off bicycles on the bottom level of the Kenan-Flagler Business School parking deck Thursday evening. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to local charities.

Stephanie Katz, member of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, said their relationship with DPS goes way back.

“This is something we have been doing for a long time,” Katz said.

“We get a percentage of the profits, some goes to DPS and the rest gets distributed to the charities.”

The process of deciding which charities to donate to involves a vote with the fraternity and attendees of another event.

“At the end of the semester we hold a charity night where our brotherhood and people that come to the event vote for what charities to do,” Katz said.

“We usually do five charities. The three with the most votes get the highest donations, and the last two receive a secondary amount.”

Bryan Head, another member of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, said the relationship with DPS is mutually beneficial.

“This is good for strengthening the relationships between the students and the actual civil workers and the people who work for the students,” Head said. “That direct interface is hard to facilitate sometimes.”

Head said the bikes at the auction were left unclaimed on campus.

“These are bikes that have been left out for a long time, and have been abandoned, or they have been parked in places where they are not allowed to be parked, and they are taken by DPS,” Head said. “Students are given a month to claim their bicycles, and after the month we sell them to charity.”

UNC students weren’t the only ones in attendance at the event.

Sergio Mazul, a graduate student at N.C. State University, accompanied his fiancee who is a graduate student in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.

“It’s a bit of a mixed bag,” Mazul said.

“You get some pretty decent bikes from time to time with some good brands, but at the same time a lot of them are (in) disrepair. I think a lot of people should come in knowing that, but that’s not to say you can’t find a really clean bike that is ready to ride.”

Although the bikes are not always the best quality, Mazul said this helps make them more affordable.

“These are bikes that have essentially fallen out of ownership,” Mazul said. “It gives another student who doesn’t have the money to buy a new bike the opportunity to get a decent bike.”

Katz said this event benefits everyone.

“It’s great to give back to the community,” said Katz. “It helps us get funding to donate to our charities, it gets our name out there and everyone gets bikes.”

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