Latkefest to raise money for child’s heart transplant

Sydney Baltrusaitis

Alpha Epsilon Pi Phi Deuteron and Hillel at Kent State will host the fifth annual Latkefest with a latke-eating contest, at the Cohn Jewish Student Center from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

A latke is a potato pancake.

Jacob Rosen, development associate for Hillel at Kent State, said the Latkefest is a collaborative event with Hillel and Jewish Fraternity AEPi.

“The charity they’re raising money for is Save a Child’s Heart, which is an Israeli humanitarian organization that works to provide heart transplants for children,” Rosen said.

Latkefest tickets are $5 pre-sale and $7 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at AEPi’s table in the Student Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. They are also welcoming any donations and are selling bracelets that say “Save a Child’s Heart” for $1.

Marc Scolnick, senior business management major and philanthropy chair of AEPi, said this is one of their seven philanthropy projects. He said this year the goal is to raise $10,000. Scolnick said the main reason why their goal is set to $10,000 is because that is about how much a heart transplant costs in developing countries.

“One heart transplant would directly be saving an individual’s life,” Scolnick said.

Along with the latke-eating contest, there will be a DJ, giveaways and more.

Contact Sydney Baltrusaitis at [email protected].