Ultra-successful Sigma Nu Charity Bowl set Thursday

The Sigma Nu Charity Bowl, which began in 1990 to honor and raise money for fallen Ole Miss football player Chucky Mullins, will be played for the 27^th time Thursday night at the Oxford-Lafayette Sportsplex.
Mullins was injured in the 1989 Ole Miss homecoming game with Vanderbilt when he tackled Commodore fullback Brad Gaines. Mullins was immediately paralyzed due to several shattered vertebrae. Mullins died May 6, 1991, at the age of 22.
Every year, Sigma Nu plays another Ole Miss fraternity in a football game, and money is raised through advertisement sales and donations. This year, Sigma Nu will play Kappa Alpha. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
To date, more than $1.7 million has been raised and the Charity Bowl has become one of the largest collegiate philanthropies in the U.S. Money raised each year goes to a different victim of paralysis. This year, the recipient is Tupelo resident Kevin Orr, a former Oxford police officer.
Orr was injured in a horrific motorcycle accident in May of 2008. He suffered multiple injuries including a severed spinal cord. Given little chance of survival, Orr defied the odds and survived after months of hospital care and rehab. Today, Kevin works with other men and women with disabilities to help them become independent and open their creative side. Also, he works for a nonprofit in Tupelo called the Life Office.
In recent years, Sigma Nu also has donated portions of the proceeds to Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson in honor of Olivia Manning. To date, more than $65,000 has been donated to Batson.
For more information, phone Sigma Nu member J.D. Maloney at (601) 613-1020 or email him at jdmaloney19@gmail.com.