After running out of student Monon shirts last year, the DePauw Student Government pulled out all the stops for this year's game.
"We ordered 2,500 shirts this year," said Student Body President Walker Chance. "We had four opportunities for students to pick them up for free, and we still have about 400 left over."
After students had been given the opportunity to get a free shirt, Student Government decided to sell them in order to raise money for the "Stand United: Annual Fundraising Competition" with Wabash College.
"We sold shirts to alumni, faculty, staff, and members of the community who came out to the game. Total sales from the shirts reached over $2,000," Chance said.
This added into funds raised through "Dine on the Square" and other philanthropic events, bringing DePauw's total to over $4,000 raised for the Putnam County United Way.
"We are so thankful for DePauw University and their support for our organization," said the Executive Director of United Way of Putnam County, Jennifer Edwards. "Without them, we would not be able to partner with so many wonderful agencies here in our community."
The United Way of Putnam County partners with multiple local organizations to better serve the community. United Way raises funds for the Red Cross, Mental Health America, the Youth Development Commission, amongst others.
"The more money raised, the more we can allocate directly into our partners and our own projects," Edwards said. "We work diligently to meet the human services needs of our residents and we are so humbled to be able to support them."
There has been a long-standing relationship between United Way and DePauw. Dave Bohmer, the director of the Media Fellows program is also the President of the United Way of Putnam County.
"There's been smaller fundraisers between greek houses and such before," said Bohmer, "but this is the first time I've seen a more concerted effort by the Student Government towards the United Way."
The $4,000 raised by Student Government was the most raised to date by DePauw students for the local United Way. Plans are for that number to grow in the coming years, as organizers pinpoint what works and what doesn't.
"It helps to have an item to sell, particularly a practical item like a long-sleeve shirt in November," said Bohmer, "and we thought the shirts this year had a pretty cool design."
The extra Monon shirts will continue to be sold to alumni and faculty until Feb. 7, when DePauw will have its "blackout" basketball game. Both the women's and the men's team will face Allegheny College at home on that date.
"Unlike other fundraisers, only 1.5 percent of the United Way's funds go back to the central organization." said Bohmer. "It allows so much more to be done right here in Putnam County."
