Comedian Seth Rogen visited Burlington’s Merrill Roxy Cinemas Thursday for a special screening of his new film Neighbors.
Rogen was on hand to honor the University of Vermont’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The students raised more than $27,000 for the actor’s organization, Hilarity for Charity.
The organization raises money to fund Alzheimer's research. The UVM fraternity came in first in a nation-wide competition, besting more than 270 student organizations and college campuses across the country in money raised.
Rogen says he got involved in Alzheimer’s fundraising after his mother-in-law was diagnosed with the disease in her early 50s.
“It was truly devastating,” Rogen told students. “I didn’t think it could happen to people who were that young. You think of this as something that could happen to your grandparents, or your great-grandparents, not your parents.”
Martha Richardson is executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association, Vermont Chapter. She said she was impressed with the fraternity’s work ethic and commitment to the cause.
“They really planned and organized this and went about this in a strategic way,” said Richardson. “We’re kind of bad at thinking about college students as being strategic.”
The Hilarity for Charity competition raised over $128,000 nationally.
