Alpha Chi Rho (AXP) fraternity held a benefit dinner for their new national philanthropy, the National MPS (Mucopolysaccharidoses) Society, in the Briarcliff cafeteria on Friday.

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), according to the National MPS Society, is a hereditary lysosomal storage diseases prompted by the body’s inability to produce specific enzymes. Those affected often lose body or brain function. Children lose the ability to walk and develop correctly, and are not expected to live past their twenties.

While the philanthropy was recently adopted by the fraternity nationally, the disease also holds personal importance to the Pace chapter as one brother’s family member suffers from MPS.

The importance of the event was not only to raise money, but also to raise awareness.

“MPS is an important philanthropy because many people do not know exactly what it is or understand how fatal it is,” AXP brother Eric Medina-Rivera said. “It makes it impossible for any male who has it to live a full life. Although there are other conditions which shorten life, there is no real treatment to extend your life past 25 with MPS.”

AXP president Trevor Walker affirmed that people could best aid the disease by informing others of its effects. He said that the greatest problem for this disease is its lack of exposure.

Mitch Farrell, the philanthropy chair of AXP, also spoke about the cause.

AXP plans on having more dinners and other events to raise money and awareness for MPS. There is even talk about finding a walk for the MPS disease.

“Maybe we can even start one,” Walker said.