A fire-engine red 1988 Oldsmobile sat on the corner of Third and Green streets on Saturday, sporting a large white ‘W’ on the hood and letters that spelled out ‘Hit Me’ along the doors.

Students and any passerby were encouraged by members of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity to take a hit at the car with a sledgehammer for a $2 donation for charity.

The fraternity, which was hosting the event to inspire a win for Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Wisconsin, will be donating half of its proceeds to the Firefighter’s National Trust. Members chose to donate to that specific organization because the symbol of their fraternity is a red fire engine.

“It’s a national organization established by (United) Firefighters of America,” said Steve Hardey, senior in business and leader of the event. “We work with them every year.”

Approximately half of the donations will go towards the organization – which financially and emotionally aids injured firefighters and their families – while the rest will help pay for the fraternity’s annual Fireman’s Ball in mid-April, Hardey said.

Two years ago, Pi Kappa Alpha donated a total of $5,000 to the organization from the various charity events they hosted throughout the year. However, this year’s car smashing event was a first for the fraternity.

The parents of Dave Long, former member of Pi Kappa Alpha who graduated last year, donated the car for Saturday’s charity event. Co-owner of Niro’s Gyros, Jason Malacarne, also formerly of the fraternity, allowed the car to be placed in the restaurant’s parking lot.

“If it’s for charity and it’s not hurting anyone, it’s fine,” said Maricela Nasir, manager at Niro’s Gyros, of the event. “It’s for a good cause.”

Christian Abrazaldo, another former member who graduated last May, said he thought the idea of smashing a car was great.

“A lot of older guys are coming back and going to the (men’s basketball) games,” Abrazaldo said. “And I thought this (charity idea) was just hilarious.”

Although some people chose to donate money without using the sledgehammer, Abrazaldo said he knew some students would donate just because they like breaking things.

“That felt so good,” said Brian Berlin, senior in LAS, after hitting the car. “It’s worth every penny.” Berlin said that he was glad that Illinois beat Wisconsin 70-59, as he attended the game with second row tickets.

Tom Lynch, sophomore in LAS, agreed.

“(I wanted to) get some aggression out,” he said. “How many times do you get to smash a car with a sledgehammer?”

Although Pi Kappa Alpha did not make as much money as they hoped to, at the end of the day, they brought in around $400.

Among other charity fund-raisers, the fraternity would like to continue the newly founded car smashing tradition.

“Hopefully we’ll keep doing (this particular event),” Hardey said. “As long as we find someone to donate a car, it’s a great idea.”