Want to win $20,000?
Well you can – for charity, that is. As part of the GrabLife GiveLife project, college students around the country can post their philanthropy events on the GrabLife Web site to be voted on by their peers. The first group to get 20,000 votes for their event will win $20,000 for the charity of their choosing.
“My goal is to get as many events up as possible and to get as many people as possible to vote every single day, ” said Communication sophomore Chris Amos. “Anyone with a .edu (e-mail account) can post an event.”
The project is sponsored by Sicard & Company, LLC, a consulting firm. Any event that takes place before Jan. 1, 2008 is eligible, and the $20,000 donation will be granted by Dodge, said Amos, Northwestern’s student marketing associate for the consulting firm running the contest.
Though voting does not begin until Oct. 14, NU students, including members of several Greek organizations, have already begun to post events.
Sigma Chi, whose national charity is the Children’s Medical Network, recently posted their week-long “Derby Days” event on the Web site. “Derby Days,” typically targeted at NU’s sororities, features a different activity every day of the week. Each sorority tries to win points throughout the week, and the sorority that gathers the most points wins.
Another charity event, from Alpha Phi, benefits the Alpha Phi Foundation, which promotes awareness of women’s cardiac health.
The event, “Cardiac Arrest,” is an event in which students on campus nominate others to be “arrested.” The girls of A Phi will then “arrest” the individuals and put them in jail while the people who nominated the “convicts” have to raise money in order to post “bail,” which goes to the foundation.
“(A Phi) decided to participate in GrabLife GiveLife because it is a good way to get involved and get smaller groups on campus to support philanthropies,” said Becca Cadoff, a SESP sophomore and member of A Phi.
The Evans Scholars are hosting another event, “Foreplay,” which will benefit their charity, the Autism Society of Illinois. For “Foreplay,” Evans Scholars members will charge per round for an 18-hole mini-golf course set up in the Evans Scholars’ house.
“Our event, ‘Foreplay,’ incorporates a lot of creativity, and we have a ton of fun doing it,” said Warren Lentz, a Communication sophomore and member of Evans Scholars.
Though many of the current participants do come from the Greek life, the competition is not limited to fraternities and sororities.
Groups like Stanford University’s Habitat for Humanity and Indiana University’s Dance Marathon have also participated and posted their respective charity events on the Web site.
Official voting for the GrabLife GiveLife online competition begins Sunday. It ends when the first three events reach 20,000 votes, or by January 2, 2008, whichever comes first.
Visit GrabLife GiveLife for more details.
Reach Heidi Kim at [email protected].
