St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl raises money for Dakotathon

When someone mentions St. Patrick’s Day, the first thought isn’t usually fundraising. However, the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl sought to combine drinking and supporting a good cause.

The $10 buy-in fee from pub crawl held on March 14 was donated to Dakotathon. Over 50 people participated, and $600 was raised.

Michaela Goldammer, a senior strategic communications major and Marketing Chair for Dakotathon, said that although the proceeds will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, the pub crawl is not affiliated with Dakotaton.

“Even though I’m in Dakotathon, this pub crawl isn’t technically put on by Dakotathon, it’s put on by people that are involved in Dakothon, and then we end up donating all the money back to Dakotathon,” she said. “The Children’s Miracle Network doesn’t condone fundraising through alcohol sales, so what we do is individually fundraise it, and then because we are so heavily involved with Dakothon, the money ends up going there.”

The pub crawl featured spots at different restaurants and bars in Vermillion, including Old Lumber Company, Leo’s and The Varsity. Each of the participating bars offered discounts to those participating.

“It’s really easy because all the bars here are locally owned, so it’s not like we’re trying to get a corporately owned bar to get involved with this,” Goldammer said. “It’s kind of a mutual thing, where they know we’re going to bring in a lot of business, so they like to be involved with it… All of the bars are super awesome to work with, they make it super easy and understand that we will bring in a big crowd if they participate, so it’s an incentive for them as  well.”

Diane Wirth, owner of The Varsity, said she is pleased to offer discounts for fundraisers.

“I am happy to host the pub crawl whenever a student group wants to do one for a fundraiser,” she said. “I think all bars in Vermillion like to support it because they know how important it is to help fundraisers, and as a bonus, it brings in extra business.”

Jacob Meyer and Quincy Score, the Events and Fundraising Chairmen for Dakotathon, organized the event. The idea for the St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl began in 2016, and has continued on as a tradition.

“Now it’s just a thing that happens every year, like with a lot of our events,” Goldammer said. “People continue to put it on. (Meyer) was the one that was like ‘hey we should do this pub crawl’ and we’re like ‘sounds fun, let’s do it.’”

Meyer said it is easy to get both the students and bar owners involved.

“If there’s one thing I’ve seen everyone on campus agree upon, it’s that we all love having a great time,” he said.

Goldammer said it’s easy to promote the pub crawl because of its social nature.

“College students like to drink, and a reason to drink is even better,” she said. “It’s easy to spend the money because it’s going to a good cause, and you get a social thing with all of your friends.”