Let the pirate jokes begin. More than 30 students are set to scavenge in The Great Northwestern Treasure Hunt for Change on Friday night.
The new fundraising event is sponsored by University Residential Life and Interfaith Hall. It will start in the Big Ten Room at Norris University Center, and participating students will search campus for the treasure, worth more than $150 in gift certificates from local restaurants Buffalo Wild Wings, Giordano’s, the Celtic Knot, Lou Malnati’s and Kafein. Each student team is allowed a maximum of 26 hours to complete the treasure hunt, which consists of four main clues that will lead to three physical locations on campus as well as an online puzzle. The clues are based on interesting facts about NU.
Paul Foryt, founder of undeadseriously.com, a co-sponsor of the event, said he hopes the event will continue for years to come and become an NU tradition.
“We wanted to do something that was fun and different from other charity events going on around campus,” said Foryt, a McCormick junior. “We looked at what other universities have done and other popular events, and we found that a lot of people have fun during scavenger hunts.”
Each student group will select a charity as a potential beneficiary, but the total proceeds from the registration fees will benefit the charity chosen by the winning team. Selected charities include the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feeding America and Reading Is Fundamental.
Organizers hope to raise at least $500 in the first year. They have been working hard to keep costs below $100 so that most of the money can be donated to the winning charity, Foryt said.
“We did not really know what to expect, but so far we are doing really well and I am very happy with how it’s turning out,” Foryt said. “I hope that once people see how fun it is, it will take off and continue year after year.”
In order to let more students participate, the deadline for registration has been extended until Friday at 7 p.m. Students can either register a team online at nutreasure.org/index.html or in the Big Ten Room before the event.[email protected]
