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Printer-Friendly Mode'Battle' raises over $19,000 for charity
November 6, 2006 —
Students and staff raised over $19,000 for last week's "Battle of the Valleys" but fell just short of Grand Valley's total as GVSU won the fourth annual fund-raising competition.
During halftime of Saturday night's game between the Cardinals and Lakers, officials announced Grand Valley had raised $19,337 to SVSU's $19,160. The $177 victory was far and away the narrowest margin in the four-year history of the Battle.
"The first reaction is to second guess ourselves," said Student Association President Andy Suszek. "There's probably 50 different ways we could have easily raised an extra $200 or $300 dollars."
During the week, various student organizations participated in a number of events to raise money for this year's charity, the Sexual Assault Program of Child and Family Services.
Suszek says this year's T-shirt sale was particularly successful, as the Student Association sold all 650 shirts it had ordered at $10 apiece. In addition, he said Thursday evening's "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" also proved successful, raising $5,400.
"I think "Battle of the Valleys" is becoming a staple part of the year," Suszek said. "People remember it and look forward to it. Because of that, we're better able to rally all of our students together behind the cause."
GVSU will give $15,000 of its proceeds to Burton Middle School in urban Grand Rapids. The money will go to purchasing books for the school's soon to be constructed library. The recipient of the remaining money will be decided at the next GVSU Student Senate meeting.
Despite the close loss to Grand Valley, Suszek says he is proud of the students for what they were able to accomplish this year in raising more money than ever before.
"We definitely were happy with what we were able to accomplish," he said. "I think we did a heck of a job this year, and we'll come back next year and win the trophy back.”