by Nina Campli, Assistant Student Life and Arts Editor
On Wednesday night at 6 p.m., Crawford Hall was filled with people eagerly awaiting to chow down on Italian food from Marie’s Italian Specialties in Chatham to helping out a good cause. The Sociology of Nonprofits class planned the event in order to raise money for the Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The event cost $5 to attend, the entrance fee included a plate of food from Marie’s and one raffle ticket. The raffle prizes were gift cards to local Madison restaurants such as Urban Fire, Crowley’s Cupcakes and Drip Coffee.
In the class the students learned about the nonprofit sector in America and how nonprofit organizations function. They also looked at the different challenges that nonprofits face and what is necessary for them to succeed. Makayla Pardo (’20) said, “getting the opportunity to create this event has proved to be a wonderful experience and has given us a glimpse of what nonprofits have to do on a daily basis.”
Many of the students enjoyed the opportunity to eat quality Italian food, have a chance to win a giftcard and help out a great organization. Karina D’Eletto (‘19) said, “Overall the event was well done and the turnout was great. The food was also really delicious.” The event was perfectly timed in the semester, offering yummy food just as people are running out of meal swipes or getting tired of Commons.
There were also a few student volunteers from MVAC who spoke to what exactly MVAC does and how important they are to the Drew community. Joy Brooks (‘19), a volunteer for Madison Ambulance, said, “An event like this shows that the community in Madison is positively affected by the corps. and is responsive to helping us help the community. Additionally, an event like this means we can continue to run and improve our organization solely on donations without charging our patients.”
Overall the event was a success. Within fifteen minutes all of the seats were filled and halfway through they ran out of pasta. By the end of the night there had been over $700 raised for MVAC.
