For the typical college student, playing bingo on a Friday night may seem a bit odd, but thanks to the members of the Emerging Leader Program (ELP), it can be quite the productive activity.
Last Friday, the ELP hosted an Extreme Bingo game, the first of three fundraisers, in the Chocolate Bar. The other two fundraising events include "The Price is Right," modeled on the TV show of the same name, on Feb. 23, and "BC Idol" on March 31. All proceeds from the events will be donated to New England Medical Center Children's Floating Hospital.
Meriam Michalczyk, A&S '09, who is helping coordinate the events, said that this is the first year ELP is doing "The Price is Right" as a fundraiser, so she is unsure how exactly it will be run. "BC Idol," however, will serve to function just like the hit television show, American Idol. Contestants will have already auditioned beforehand, and on the night of the event, a panel of three "special" judges (for instance, the Rev. Jack Butler, S.J., was a judge last year) will determine the winning performances from 10 to 15 contestants. Prizes will be awarded to the winners and donations will be accepted at the door.
Last year's fundraisers hosted by ELP included "BC Idol," Extreme Bingo, a Rocky Horror Picture Show movie night, "candy-grams" during the winter holidays, and a dodgeball tournament. All of last year's proceeds went to Hurricane Katrina relief charities.
According to Michael Weston-Murphy, A&S '10 and one of about 50 freshmen involved in ELP, the Extreme Bingo event was a success.
"The Chocolate Bar was completely filled, at least for the time I was there," he said. "We made about $700 in profit, which is pretty good."
Michalczyk explained that each year ELP tries to think of a charity that needs them the most. Last year, a current member of ELP, Tim Padulsky, CSOM '10, was diagnosed with leukemia and had to undergo treatment from July until Thanksgiving at the New England Medical Center Children's Floating Hospital. According to Weston-Murphy, ELP's initial thought was to donate to the Jimmy Fund, but after this occurrence, the group decided to donate to this particular hospital.
"This is just a great cause, and [Tim's condition] really motivated us to do this. This just seemed like a cause that really hit close to home, and our efforts are helping to build a community here at BC," said Weston-Murphy.
Michalczyk shared similar views on the cause behind ELP's fundraising efforts.
"Tim's a great kid, and we thought it would be good to do something for kids like him," said Michalczyk.
She added that although there are only three fundraising events this year versus last year's five, the ELP's goal is to make each event "bigger and better."
Specifically, the money raised by ELP's events that are going to be donated to the Children's Floating Hospital will be used to renovate the playroom there.
"The playroom supplies us with movies and games to take away from the monotony of the day," said Padulsky. "I really think this will help with boosting kids' morale [at the hospital]."
Padulsky said that the ELP contacted him and they discussed making some kind of donations to help with bone marrow conditions and bone marrow transplants. They eventually decided to donate their funds to the Children's Floating Hospital to have the playroom renovated.
Padulsky added that ELP's fundraising efforts have done very well in the past, so he expects similar results to come out of this years' events.
"I would just like to say a big thank you on behalf of all of the kids who will be benefiting from the renovation of the playroom. I think this fundraising is helping to raise awareness and it helps to provide us with entertainment during our time of treatment," said Padulsky.
Be the first to comment on this article!