After watching their fellow brother go into a diabetic seizure, one OU fraternity’s members have been ramping up support for the diabetic community with a charity run.

Sigma Phi Epsilon and the diabetic community collaborated Saturday to raise $60,000 at the second annual Run to Defeat Diabetes.

The run originated last year after entrepreneurship senior and diabetic Ryan Fightmaster approached his fraternity with a way to give back to the diabetic community and get back at the disease he was diagnosed with when he was 8 years old.

“This philanthropy is one of the few that came out of a personal experience … so I think our hearts are more personally attached to it,” said Brett Bone, fraternity president.

Last year, the 400-participant run raised $47,000 for the fraternity to donate to the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center of Oklahoma at the OU Health Sciences Center. The center promotes the research, education, care and prevention of diabetes, according to the center’s website.

“It’s extremely amazing the kind of support the guys have given me; without them the event wouldn’t take place,” Fightmaster said.

The run offered a 5K and a 1-mile run to participants sponsored by local Oklahoma companies. More than 150 volunteers show-up at 5 a.m. to prepare the races, not finishing until 11 a.m.

“They do what it takes,” Fightmaster said. “They man the course, conduct registration. It mean’s a lot for them to support us; they’ve really taken a personal initiative with the event.”

Fightmaster said the fraternity members hope the event promotes diabetes education and testing.

“Everyone that runs in this race knows that we are here to support the diabetic community, and it is impossible to show up Saturday morning and not learn something about diabetes and how it effects our state and our nation,” Bone said.