Photo by: Michael Furman

Two DU students took matters into their own hands when they decided to find a way to raise money for Haiti relief.

They are not part of any specific organizations or clubs on campus. They just wanted to find a way to help out on their own.

Junior Lindsey Hethcote and senior Jonathon Armstead put on a fundraiser last Friday night at local restaurant and bar Stick-e-Star.

Nearly $900 was raised during the event. Thus, $800 will be donated to Haiti relief because it cost $100 to rent the bar for the night.

“It felt really good and to be honest it felt pretty easy,” Armstead said.

“Everyone we talked to seemed really excited about what we were doing and everything came together really well.”

Everything was planned really quickly. They came up with the idea four days before the event, then met with management at Stick-e-Star and started getting the word out.

“It was Lindsey’s idea. Her mom suggested she do some sort of fundraiser and she came to me for help,” said Armstead. “We heard of a fundraiser at Santa Clara University that was asking for $5 donations at the door which is where we got that idea.”

There was a $5 cover to get into the event, but all of the cover charges went straight to the Haiti fund.

The event included a drawing, live music and drink specials. Each item for the drawing was donated by local businesses.

There was over $300 worth of donations in the form of gift certificates and prizes.

One interesting donation was from a bartender at the Stadium Inn. Pete Calikes donated a night of free bartending. Another unique donation came University Gifts who donated a $65 hookah. The hookah was part of a silent auction and sold for $35.

Armstead provided some of the live music. He played three guitar sets and then DJ FNCH took over for the rest of the night. DJ FNCH is Ryan Fincham, a senior at DU.

The drink specials included $2 drafts, $3 jager bombs, $3 jungle juice and $6 pitchers. There also was a bucket sitting next to the DJ booth for donations.

Walking around the bar were people selling “DU for Haiti” wristbands that are $2 each. The wristbands are part of SAE’s fundraising for Haiti and will continue to be sold on Driscoll Bridge all week.

“It might have been bigger if we had planned it for next weekend but we wanted to hold the event while everyone was still in the donating spirit and Haiti was still on everyone’s minds,” said Armstead.

Hethcote and Armstead have decided to donate the money through the American Red Cross Web site because they have the lowest administrative costs. To donate through the American Red Cross, visit secure3.convio.net.

 

Local businesses that donated

• DU Bookstore
• Floyd’s Barbershop
• Fuhgidabowdit Pizzeria
• Jordan’s Bistro and Pub
• Illegal Pete’s
• The Pioneer
• Silver Star Cleaners
• Spanky’s Roadhouse Grill
• Spicy Pickle
• Starbucks
• University Gifts
• University Sports Grill