Oscar Gonzalez and his friends are catering to thirsty Willard residents in an effort to raise money for the Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative.
The Weinberg sophomore is participating in Dance Marathon for the first time this year. He and other residents of Willard Residential College are selling shot glasses which read, “Woo Shot,” a play on Willard’s nickname, “Woo-Shack.” The traditional methods of fundraising did not appeal to him, Gonzalez said.
“We actually haven’t sent out any letters yet; we just don’t want to go canning,” he said.
Every couple participating in DM has to raise $750 in order to dance for 30 hours at the fundraiser’s main event March 3-5. As the half-money deadline approaches Thursday, dancers are getting creative with their fundraising strategies.
Sarah Monteith, a Communication junior, threw a celebrity-themed party with her partner, SESP junior Katy Secunda, last year. Monteith dressed as Marilyn Monroe, while Secunda appeared as Angelina Jolie.
“We sent out Evites and e-mails,” Monteith said. “We charged $5 at the door and we made about $800.”
Monteith and her partner are not dancing this year, but they still collected donations by providing a cab service for their friends to the Mark II Lounge in Chicago, commonly known as The Deuce, one night during fall quarter. Monteith said they made about $150 from the endeavor.
“I have a car this year, and we publicized it by sending out e-mails to a bunch of listservs,” she said. “It’s pretty easy to get money as long as you cater to Northwestern students. We were just looking for fun ways for people to donate.”
The highest fundraisers last year wrote letters to alumni associations, according to DM Executive Co-chair Cecilia Byrne. There is a solicitation letter on the DM Web site dancers can use as a template. The top fundraisers this year will receive a travel package to Europe from STA Travel.
The second-highest fundraisers last year were Nadia Rawls and Serena Fishman. The Weinberg juniors have been involved with DM since freshman year. The couple collected about $5,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. As a diabetes patient, Fishman had a particular interest in raising money last year.
“She was especially dedicated to raising the money because it was going to a very personal cause,” Rawls said.
Rawls said she didn’t solicit money from passers-by at events or in prominent Evanston and Chicago locations, popularly known as canning, last year and has only canned once this year. Most of the money she and her partner raised last year came from donations from friends, family, old high school teachers and anyone else they thought had an interest in the cause. Rawls had a tip for dancers this year who have yet to meet their money quota.
“If you actually send a self-addressed envelope inside the letter it’s so easy,” she said. “They just write the check and send it back. It’s all the little things.”
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