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November 15, 2010 —
Battle of the Valleys concluded with an SVSU football loss but a win in fundraising.
SVSU raised $40,088 to benefit the Salvation Army of Saginaw and won the Battle of the Valleys victory for the third year in a row.
GVSU raised $12,500, a decline from last year’s $19,000 and less than half of its goal of $35,000. SVSU surpassed the goal to raise more than last year’s $38,000.
Marcus Cooper, Student Association director of Campus Events, believes that Battle of the Valleys has been extremely beneficial to the community.
“There is no other event at SVSU that directly impacts the Saginaw community as much as Battle of the Valleys,” said Cooper.
There were fundraising events held last week, and according to Student Association president Julie Boon, the communitybased events were the most successful.
One of major community events was the T-shirt sales. This year’s slogan was “Friends don’t let friends go to Grand Valley,” which was used as a slogan for Battle of the Valleys several years ago.
“We decided to use the slogan again because it sold out last time and was very successful,” said Boon.
The slogan proved successful again this year with T-shirts selling out Friday afternoon.
In addition to T-shirt sales, there were game show spin-offs, donations of cash and meals and shows.
Boon says she believes that all events were successful because they can learn from experiences this year, such as low attendance, to prepare for next year.
Cooper said that the week provided “many ways for students to donate to the great cause” and added that there were events that appealed to “different types of students.”
Out of the seven charities that applied to receive the money this year, the Salvation Army was selected due to its contributions to the community with its youth programs.
“We felt like SVSU and the Saginaw community could rally behind them,” said Boon. “Donations are needed or their programs would have to be cut.”
Director of Marketing and Development for the Salvation Army, Ann Bierman, said that the agreement with Student Association is that most of the money will be used primarily for their youth programs with the remainder to go to filling the personal needs closet once.
Their youth programs are after school, over the summer and weekly character building programs.
“We don’t want kids left alone after school or during the summer months,” said Bierman. “It’s times when kids are left alone that they get into trouble.”
She added that the programs are fun, safe and affordable and that full or partial scholarships are available for those who cannot afford it.
The money raised from Battle of the Valleys will help keep the scholarships in place and also help them purchase additional equipment to use in their programs.
If students are interested in helping with the Salvation Army, Bierman said that organization is always look for volunteers and have activities such as bell ringing and working at an Angel Tree table at Fashion Square Mall.
Getting volunteers for the bell ringing helps the Salvation Army save money to use for other activities or programs.
“If we don’t get volunteers, we have to hire bell ringers and pay for them,” said Bierman.
Despite this, the Salvation Army says it is grateful for the effort that Student Association and SVSU students put into raising money for them.
“I have seen how hard they work and I’m so impressed and grateful for their work,” Bierman said. “It’s been fun, and possibly the best experience I’ve ever had working with a group.”