The BJU community raised over $216,000 for the construction of Hope Christian Health Center in the Ivory Coast during Bible Conference, and donations are still coming in.
The Theta Delta Omicron Tigers and Phi Kappa Pi Rams’ fundraiser was a pieing event. Students could throw a “pie” in the face of other students, RAs, faculty members or administrators. The pies were a combination of whipped cream and mashed potatoes in a pie tin. Participants were willing volunteers who were given a hairnet, a garbage bag poncho and a tarp to protect the rest of the participant’s clothes.
Director of the center for leadership and development Dr. Matthew Weathers was the master of ceremonies for the entire event, calling out comedic encouragements like, “Get pied for the children!” and “Every pie is helping further the kingdom of God.” Weathers himself later got pied.
The event was the brainchild of Tigers’ president Joanna Jarrell, senior accounting major, who thought of the idea over break. The Tigers and Rams raised $1,500 with the fundraiser. “I like how interactive this one is,” participant Kate Dunwoody, a senior at BJU, said. “I think it’s a lot of fun to do something unique. It just brings people together in a fun way.”
The Nu Alpha Pi Flames and Sigma Alpha Chi Spartans hosted a black-tie event: a murder mystery dinner. They had 130 participants total and raised around $1,000. Everyone who came was assigned a character they had to play throughout the evening. The premise of the story was the murder of an awards show host during the dinner. Ten of the participants were playing main characters, people who were up for the award. The guests then had to figure out which of the main characters murdered the host by the end of the evening.
“I thought, ‘Why not, it’s for a good cause,’” Jessica Teruel, participant and senior journalism and mass communication major, said. “I love participating in activities like this, especially when it’s with my friends. It’s a good way to bring people together for a good cause.”
Flames president Lauren Cathers did a murder mystery dinner at her church and had the idea to throw one at Bible Conference. “It was definitely a more interactive fundraiser,” Cathers said. “It was fun to not just sell something that people enjoyed, but also . . . to help raise money for Hope Christian Hospital.”
After the final Bible Conference service, the Theta Sigma Chi Colts hosted a volleyball tournament and raised around $1,000. The Colts’ athletic director, sophomore Caitlyn Benson, organized the event. “We tend to be a really athletic society, so this is right up our alley,” Benson said. There were 16 teams that participated in the event. “I wanted a good way to give money while having fun,” sophomore Virginia Serviss said.
“It’s a good way to bring people together for a good cause.” – Jessica teruel
When the Alpha Sigma Omicron Ambassadors and Kappa Sigma Chi Knights’ fundraiser, a campus-wide Hobbit-themed scavenger hunt, got canceled due to weather, they remained undeterred and rescheduled the event to be held in March.
“The scavenger hunt includes both logical, physical and mental challenges,” Knights society president and junior ministry and leadership major Nicholas Gore said. The challenges include finding a hidden faculty member on campus, deciphering riddles, finding hidden objects and more. Gore had the idea last semester and successfully incorporated a smaller-scaled scavenger hunt into Rush. “It was a big hit, and I was like, why don’t we do this on a bigger scale, for Bible conference,” Gore said.
While the Knights were skeptical at first, Gore won them over. Determined to help regardless of the weather having postponed the hunt, several Knights helped fundraise by participating in the pieing event, where they pied Gore.
Donors can still contribute to the cause online at bibleconference.bju.edu.